Precious Secrets and Beautiful Liars
by hertlerzsker
Summary: She has a precious secret and he's just another beautiful liar. A beautiful liar set on a mission to unearth her darkest, most precious secret. 'Chapter 11: A Girl of Stone' now up.
1. PROLOGUE: Know Me

**Sup! I'm TheLingeringWolf (TLW). This is my first FF so if you notice any mistakes or anything, drop a review/PM me and I'll get to work on fixing it.**

P.S. Don't get put off by Nagi's OOC-ness. Everyone's got to have a dark side, right? For all you sweet-Nagihiko fans, don't worry. You'll be in for a big surprise at the end of the story! ^.^

**Disclaimer: All licensed products mentioned in this fanfiction do not belong to me. All rights go to the producers/publisher.**

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><p><em><em>.::.<span>P<span>**r**e_c_**io**u_s_** S**e_c**r_e_**t_**s** _**a**_n_d_** B**_ea**u**_t**f**ul **L**i**a**_r**s**.::._

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><p><em>She sank onto the sofa; trembling with unshed tears. Memories swirled around in her head, fogging her thoughts. Her father, bouncing her on his knee when she was just a child and singing in her ear softly.<em>

_Her mother, curled up on the couch reading a thick book with a content smile on her face.  
>Her best friend and her laying side by side on the luscious green grass, gazing up at the clear summertime sky talking about nothing but just enjoying each other's company.<em>

_How could she have lost all the things she loved most in the world in one month?  
><em>  
>I will not cry<em>, she said sternly. Clearly, she was lying to herself again.<em>

_"This is all your fault," _she whispered to the emptiness of her heart. _"All your fault..."_

_But as those tears trickled down her face, she built a fortress around her heart. She would never let anyone else in. No one would ever betray her again. Ever.  
><em>

Rima Mashiro has always been very secretive. She puts up an unwelcoming façade in hope that people will ignore her. The past haunts her nightmares and her parents' screaming forever echoes in her mind. No one has ever gotten through to her; psychiartists have ruled her as an impossible case. Her mask is permanently plastered on her face and is only ever pulled off when she is alone.

She doesn't cry anymore; how could she when all her tears have been used up? She still wakes up panting in the middle of the night but she no longer screams. She doesn't cower in the corner whenever her parents fight; she shuts them out and continues living like nothing's even happening. She never shows emotion. How can she when her heart's been frozen over?

She stays like this, a girl turned to stone, forever awaiting the day her prince will come and chisel out her features…

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><p><em>He grabbed his head in his hands and squeezed his eyes shut, wishing he could magically teleport himself to somewhere other than there. <em>Why? _he whispered to the air. _Why me?  
><em><br>No one answered him. If anything the wind picked up and carried through the trees loudly, like it was trying to drown out his voice.  
>He just wanted to be a normal boy. Why couldn't anyone understand? Why were they even allowing this to happen? It wasn't right!<br>_  
>"To hell with Nadeshiko,"<em> he'd muttered cruelly. Then and there, he stripped himself of her, ripped her from inside him and buried her.<br>He was no longer Fujisaki Nadeshiko, but Nagihiko. Just Nagihiko.  
><em>  
>"I'll make them pay,"<em> he whispered bitterly. <em>"They will pay."  
><em><br>And with those three words he vowed to make the people who brought him into the world of elites pay. Every single one of them._

Nagihiko Fujisaki is the master of lies. He will never reveal that he hates his family's traditions. He will always lie and say that it is an honour to be the young master. He would carry out his duties without complaint and smile like he's enjoying it when on the inside, his conscience is screaming at him to run before he gets himself into something he'll regret forever.

But he can't.

They'd bring him back. No matter how many times he runs they'll track him down and drag him back screaming. So he lies. He gets on their good side, gives himself the title of 'The Princely Fujisaki' and plots his revenge plan. If he's going to live like this, why not have a little fun with it?

He observes people, watches them closely and starts to slowly unravel their secrets. Once he has figured out their little sins, he stores them in his notebook, waiting for the perfect time to reveal everything.

Then Rima Mashiro stumbled into his life and proved to be a problem. No matter what he tries, he can't find a secret to unravel. He knows there is something there eating away at her but she shows no evidence, no emotion. He's determined to break her façade and find out her secret.

Falling in love was the last thing on his mind…

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><p><strong>Review? Sorry it's short... this is just a sneak peek.<strong>

**-TheLingeringWolf**


	2. CHAPTER 1: Rima

** Sorry if my previous chapter was a little short but that was really just a sneak peek. It was actually meant to be a character profile so you guys can kind of connect with the characters.**

** I DO NOT OWN ANY LICENSED PRODUCTS MENTIONED IN THIS FANFIC. ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE PUBLISHERS/PRODUCERS.**

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><p><em><em><em>.::.<span>P<span>**r**e_c_**io**u_s_** S**e_c**r_e_**t_**s** _**a**_n_d_** B**_ea**u**_t**f**ul **L**i**a**_r**s**.::.__

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><p>Rima Mashiro wandered down the street, a shiver passing over her as the cool winter air probed at her. She wrapped her scarf tighter around herself; trying to conserve as much heat as possible. Just as she was passing the park a pang of sympathy hit her.<p>

The park, usually teeming with life, was now completely empty. The swings swayed in the breeze and icicles were taking up residence on the parallel bars. The trees were naked and snow piled on the branches, almost daring someone to stand under them and fall for their tricks. She shivered again and kept walking towards her destination.

Really, forcing her to collect groceries in this weather? One would consider it child abuse. Anger immediately filled her when she remembered the reason as to why she was walking, alone; to get food for her corrupted family. Her parents were too busy ripping each other's throats out to even care what she was doing, let alone how she was taking care of herself. She clenched her fists tightly and sped up her pace a little.

Once she'd walked across the road and into the busier part of the city Rima placed a cold and unwelcoming frown on her face, her eyes immediately shifting into a glare. People backed away from her and stopped to stare as she walked through. She roughly shoved her headphones over her ears to ignore their whispering and muttering. Rima turned the volume up on her iPod and tried to get lost in the music.

_"This town is colder now, I think it's sick of us.  
>It's time to make our move, I'm shakin' off the rust.<br>Got my heart set on anywhere but here.  
>I'm staring down myself, counting up the years.<em>

_"Steady hands just take the wheel.  
>Every glance is killing me.<br>Time to make one last appeal,  
>On the life I lead…"<em>

Rima frowned at the song choice. Why is it that whenever she felt like giving up, a song describes exactly how she feels? It wasn't fair at all. The truth was, today her will wasn't as strong as it usually was. On another day she would hold her head high with her shoulders back and ignore the speculating. Today she wished they would just shut up and let her live her life to her own accord.

She sighed under her breath and kept her head down. The supermarket was now within view. Sighing at the thought of escaping the cold, Rima sprinted the last few metres, her long blond waves flying out wildly behind her. Today was a day of weakness, so why not indulge herself? It was her "anniversary" after all. "Anniversary" to mourn the day her life took a sudden and extremely careless turn towards _Desolate Street_.

Rima immediately loaded the basket with chocolate sweets once she passed the candy aisle. Done with her own shopping, she looked down at the list she'd quickly scrawled. "Eggs, peanut butter, milk, bread, fruit and vegetables. Eggs, peanut butter, milk…" she whispered under her breath.

Her headphones lay abandoned around her neck, mute and beckoning her to get lost again. She glared down at them deviously, communicating a silent '_Nope_'. Rima ventured toward the baking needs section and immediately spotted carton upon carton of eggs. Commencing a quick inspection of the eggs, she smiled triumphantly when she found a carton without a single cracked egg.

The 24/7 supermarket had recently hired a new staff member who lacked some points in the grace department. Speak of the devil, here she comes now… Rima rolled her eyes delicately when the airhead rounded the corner.

"IKUTO!" she screamed.

Rima watched in mild amusement as the midnight-blue haired teen snuck up behind her and leaned  
>down to bite her ear gently. The pink haired girl screamed and jumped, toppling a pyramid of cans.<p>

"Now look what you've done," he tsked at her like a mother would. "You're so clumsy sometimes."

The pinkette sputtered at his words before a look of rage crossed her face. She stormed off in the opposite direction towards the door labelled 'STAFF ONLY'. The boy chuckled to himself and bent to retrieve the fallen cans.

The show over, Rima wandered off towards the dairy section to collect the milk. All that was left was the fruit, vegetables and peanut butter… She looked around and finally spotted the spreads. Once she got there, her stomach dropped. The brand she always bought because it was within reach and tasted divine had been moved to the very top shelf. Rima may carry herself confidently, but that was just to make up what she lacked in height.

Rima craned her neck up to stare at her favourite jar of peanut butter. It was the last jar left. Remembering her ballet lessons from fifth grade, Rima stretched went up onto her tiptoes and stretched her body skywards. A cramp started to form on the bottom of her foot but she ignored it. All she had in her mind was the peanut butter and she would stop at nothing to get it. Her finger was just grazing the jar when it was suddenly pulled out of reach.

Rima immediately brought herself down to glare up at the stranger. Pinky was standing before her holding out the jar of peanutty goodness.

"Here you go," she said and placed it in Rima's basket. She then held out a hand, expecting Rima to shake. "My name's Amu Hinamori. It's a pleasure to be of service."

Rima stared the girl up and down. Amu smiled back. Now Rima was positively shocked. If she were to use that glare on anyone else, they'd squirm in discomfort and back away before running from her. Amu was still smiling, looking happy enough to make Rima feel nauseous.

"Rima Mashiro," she said stiffly and crossed her arms.

Amu looked a little hurt that the shorter girl refused to take her hand. She shrugged it off though and took the list from Rima."The vegetables and fruit are this way. I'll point out all the weekly bargains for you."

And with that, Amu set off with Rima's list.  
><em><br>Her _list.

Rima shook with anger. How dare she waltz up to Rima, grab the jar before she could, take her list and expect to show Rima the bargains? And she did the whole thing without crumbling. Rima followed behind her, fuming. That Amu girl definitely was a piece of work.

Rima silently shoved a bag of carrots and a cucumber into the basket. Then she grabbed a vine of tomatoes and a pack of corn, and added some apples to the pile of rapidly increasing fresh food.  
>Once she was sure that the money she was given had been used up, she went to the closest register, ignoring Amu who was rattling on about a special on pears and how Rima should purchase a couple of pounds before stock ran out. She counted out the money and left, still ignoring Amu.<p>

Rima paused at a bench to put the bags down so she could put her headphones on. She hit shuffle and let a piano tribute calm her down. Rima was still boiling over Amu's lack of crumbling.  
>She was so intent on her thoughts she didn't notice the sun go down. Rima had just crossed the road when she looked up and immediately felt panicked.<p>

"No. Not here. Not now… Oh, please no," she whimpered and sped up. Her memories were right on her heels and there was no escaping them. Flashbacks of that night ran through her mind. She was entrapped.

_She'd been walking alone at night, just like she was now when it happened. She felt the eyes on her but took no notice, dismissing it as the night life animals staring at her as she rushed down the street. That's when she heard the footsteps; slow, deliberate footsteps behind her._

_She crossed the road and still heard the footsteps. When she slowed down, the footsteps slowed down; when she sped up, the footsteps sped up. Rima started running. Adrenaline surged through her body and she ran._

_She was amazed that her short legs were capable of sprinting at that speed. Rima was terrified at what was behind her. She risked a peek back―_

_No_, Rima told herself sternly. _You will not relive that memory. _She started running home, not stopping until her front door was within view. She yanked the door open and stomped inside, immediately greeted with her parents' yelling.

"What were you doing there?"

"Having fun."

"With another man?"

"What do you think?"

"I can't believe you!"

"Why? I'm just living my life how I please. I don't know why you care."

"You have a child!"

"You think I didn't _know_?"

Rima immediately blocked them out and retreated far into her mind. Hearing about her mother's "adventure" the night before really wasn't what she wanted to be doing that night. Instead, she climbed upstairs to her room and put in a movie she'd rented while her mother was off doing something she'd rather not think about. She hadn't seen this movie yet for she had been busy during the summer when it hit the cinemas. It was a romantic movie full of action, just how she liked it.

When it was over she played some music softly, trying to fall asleep, knowing it was no use because she'd wake up soon panting and sweat drenched.

She closed her eyes anyways and let the land of sleep and night terrors claim her once again.

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><p><strong>Don't forget to leave a review if you can, even if it's only a few words. Also, remember to favourite andor follow _Precious Secrets and Beautiful Liars._**

**Chapter inspired by _'Stop and Stare' _by One Republic. **


	3. CHAPTER 2: Nagihiko

**I DO NOT OWN ANY LICENSED PRODUCTS MENTIONED IN THIS FANFICTION. ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE PUBLISHERS AND/OR PRODUCERS.**

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><p><em><em><em>.::.<span>P<span>**r**e_c_**io**u_s_** S**e_c**r_e_**t_**s** _**a**_n_d_** B**_ea**u**_t**f**ul **L**i**a**_r**s**.::.__

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><p>"Nagihiko, could you attend this convention in place of your Father?"<p>

"Hai, Mama. You know I don't mind." _What a lie, _he thought. Then again, he _has_become quite good at it. Lying, that is.

"Nagihiko, I don't know what I'd do without you." _Yes, what _would _you do? _

"I'm going out to shoot some hoops," he announced, already pulling his shirt over his head and walking out to the driveway.

He did a warm up jog and shuttle runs before grabbing his basketball to start slam dunking. Basketball was the only thing he enjoyed doing in this hell hole. That is, of course, _despite _the lying and toying with rich people. He smiled at his last discovery. Miss Sanjou, soon-to-be a Hoshina, had had a one night stand with Nikaidou Yuu which soon turned out to be a whole series of night in. She was now cheating on the head of Easter with a formal employee.

As soon as Nagihiko had figured her secret out, he'd ran to his room and unearthed his notebook. He even had evidence in case no one believed him when he finally shared his knowledge with others.  
>He'd paid a generous amount of money to the paparazzi for the photos of them hand in hand entering a love hotel. And just to be safe, he'd paid an even more generous amount to the paparazzi to keep quiet. He'd accepted the money graciously and handed everything over. Not to forget throwing the key to his chatty, reporter's lips away.<p>

Nagihiko threw the basketball once again, watching as it sailed in a perfect arc towards the basket. It landed straight through the hoop and fell to the ground. He grinned and placed the ball away and moved towards his weights. Nagihiko had developed since the age of twelve, when he'd been forced to act as a girl. It was apparently his family's "tradition" for the men to be brought up as girls. That was the way it'd been done since his great grandfather's father's time. Traditional Japanese dancing was something his family lived and breathed. In order to take the role seriously, he literally had to crossdress.

But basketball was something he'd always loved. He would frequently sneak out late at night to the local park in a hoodie and shoot the night away. By the time he'd reached puberty at twelve, he'd finally gotten sick of the whole Nadeshiko thing. He'd made up an excuse that he was her twin and tragically, she'd gone to America to study dance. His friends were devastated, Amu the most. But they'd accepted it and moved on.

Four years later and Nadeshiko still hadn't come back. Of course, no one knew he was Nadeshiko or, should he say, no one knew Nadeshiko was _him_. If he was the master of lies and uncovering secrets, of course he would be the master of _keeping _them. He was sure that if he expressed his real character publicly and confessed his little passion of lying and uncovering people's secrets, they'd be horrified. He could already imagine the screams.  
><em><br>'Fujisaki Nagihiko is a liar? No, he couldn't be!'  
><em>  
>He grinned at the thought. He may not look it, but he really was a CIA operative in the making. He could figure out your life story in one glance and unearth your darkest secrets in a second. It wasn't that easy; sometimes it took weeks to figure them out. It depended on how strong willed the mind was. So far, he'd never had to abandon a case. He seriously was considering becoming an undercover cop. But basketball <em>always <em>came first.

He moved to the punching bag and slammed all his frustrations into it. He caught the neighbour girls' perving on him and he smiled charmingly, causing them to blush and stumble away. He loved using that character: his sweet side. Don't get him wrong, he was always sweet but using that character made him sweet-_er _(if that were even possible). He was the kind of boy that was nothing but innocent and never failed to make people feel better. Girls fainted at his signature "sparkle attack".

If only they knew that he really was a scandalous, slightly perverted and completely _ordinary _sixteen year old male… Really, his real character was even worse than Ikuto's, which was kind of scary. Nagihiko shuddered at the thought. Worse than _Ikuto_? Was that even _possible?  
><em>  
>Nagihiko smirked at the memory of Ikuto's latest stunt against Amu. During free period Ikuto had snuck out of school, armed with a black permanent marker. He'd gone straight to Amu's house and scribbled 'Ikuto was here' on all her underwear. She'd screamed so loudly, Nagi was sure that people all the way in Europe had heard.<p>

Glancing at the time, Nagihiko cursed himself. It was already late evening and he was supposed to meet the gang at seven. He had, approximately, twenty minutes to get ready. Nagi ran inside and jumped straight in the shower, turning the cold water on all the way. He rinsed his long purple locks and was out five minutes later.

Glancing at his cell, he saw that he had only taken seven minutes to get changed; which was a bit too long. All he had done was throw on a pair of black jeans and a dark blue shirt. Maybe he shouldn't have got distracted with the mini basketball hoop on his wall…?  
><em><br>Man,_ he thought. _I really do have a short attention span. _Nagi sprinted down the stairs and out the door, already speed dialling on his bright orange cell.  
><em><br>"Hello?"_Amu answered.

"Amu-chan, I'll be there in a few minutes. Would you please wait for me?" Nagi rolled his eyes. He really should pursue acting for a career. With the amount of people he has fooled, he could win an _Oscar_.  
><em><br>"That's okay Nagi! None of the other boys have shown up yet―wait! Kukai just arrived. All that's left is Ikuto and Tadase-kun." _Nagihiko laughed genuinely. That was exactly like Tadase and Ikuto.

"I'll see you soon Amu-chan!"

Nagi hit disconnect and grinned triumphantly. He was amazed that Dia, Amu's more inquisitive side, hadn't caught him out yet. There was only one time in the entire four years he'd been fooling people when Dia had caught on to him. He'd spotted Dia staring at him curiously during the time when Rhythm wouldn't hatch and he was trying to hide it from everybody. His heart had probably wavered during that time and Dia, being Dia, had sensed it.

When Rhythm _had_ hatched Nagi had been forced to act like Rhythm was an embarrassment. He was just so _flirty. _That went against everything the 'Princely Fujisaki' was. Deep down though, Nagi had wanted to look Rhythm in the eye and say _'that's my boy'. _The Guardians had brushed it off by saying that Rhythm was the more confident and out-going side to him. Rhythm was actually born from his desire to rip down his façade and show the world who he truly was.

As if catching on to his bearer's thoughts, Rhythm peeped out from inside Nagi's leather jacket. "Yo, Nags! What's up with that face…hm?"

Nagi raised an eyebrow at Rhythm's new nickname for him. "Don't ever call me that again," he said with an eye roll directed towards Rhythm. Rhythm chose to ignored it.

"No, seriously, what's up?"

"Nothing."

"Whatever you say," Rhythm sat on Nagi's shoulder and enjoyed the ride. Nagi was tempted to flick Rhythm off his shoulder but thought better of it as they rounded the corner.

"Nagi!" Yaya cried and ran up to hug smaller girl clung to Nagi and he wrapped his arms lightly around her back with a laugh. Yaya truly was the life of the party.

He may have unravelled all their secrets, but he never, _ever _planned to use them against his friends. If anything, he was going to _help _them. However, he did feel a pang of hurt. He was saddened by the fact that he couldn't reveal to them. He still had secrets to unravel. New powerful people kept popping up everywhere.

"Hello to you, too," Nagihiko said to Yaya gently. He managed to pry her off him and softly nudged her towards Kairi. The two immediately blushed and everyone else snickered. He was caught by surprise when he was attacked by Kukai.

"Dude! How come they hug you and never me?" _Because I've got a better body, perhaps?  
><em>  
>He would be tempted to say that if he didn't have a death wish. Kukai was playing with him, looking for a fight. Nagi always seemed to win them.<p>

"Someday Kukai; someday," he joked, but was interrupted.

"NAGI! GET YOUR OFF OF ME!" Yaya yelled out. He turned around to see Rhythm clinging to Yaya's cheek.

"Oi! Rhythm! We've been through this: it's impolite to grasp a woman who's already taken."  
>Nagi grinned at Yaya's reaction. Rhythm went to greet the charas.<p>

"Yay!" he said and hugged Pepe.

Pepe giggled girlishly and repeated. He went around hugging all the girls. Nagihiko smirked to himself when he caught sight of Yoru, who was restraining himself from ripping Miki from Rhythm's grasp. Daichi was a little tense when Rhythm pulled Ran towards him and Kiesiki ordered Rhythm to unhand his loyal servant who happened to be Sue. Kukai grinned at the little display and they all walked towards the theme park. It was an energetic walk to the park. Ikuto met them half-way, much to Amu's chagrin.

Just as they were about to enter, Nagihiko caught sight of blonde. He turned around and saw, perhaps; the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life. She was short but lithe and her hair was liquid blonde. It fell in waves down her back. She had on a pair of headphones similar to the ones Nagi wore during a character transformation or a chara change. She was glaring at her surroundings, her golden eyes piercing the crowd. She kept on walking though, ignoring the stares and looking straight ahead.

She was playing with her orange iPod which was identical to Nagi's. He grinned. _Oh, the irony_, he thought. If he could, he'd walk up to her and ask for her name and number and accompany her to wherever she was going. That was, of course, if she'd stop and listen to her.

Rhythm caught where his bearer was looking and smiled. They both watched her run into the supermarket. Nagi really wanted to follow her, but was pulled away by Ikuto.

"Dude, what is _up _with you? You're perving on a girl you're probably never gonna see again in your life," Ikuto sternly said, but he was still grinning.

"Don't hate it till you've tried it," was Nagi's only reply.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading if you still are. And becuase I just watched <em>Inu x Boku SS<em>, you're a sadist for reading this far and not exiting the browser window! **

**This chapter inspired by...  
><em>'Use Somebody', <em>Kings of Leon**


	4. CHAPTER 3: Rima

**Chapter 3...**

**I DO NOT OWN _SHUGO CHARA _OR ANY LICENSED PRODUCTS MENTIONED. ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE PUBLISHERS AND/OR PRODUCERS.**

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><p><em><em>.::.<span>P<span>**r**e_c_**io**u_s_** S**e_c**r_e_**t_**s** _**a**_n_d_** B**_ea**u**_t**f**ul **L**i**a**_r**s**.::._

Rima slammed her hand down on the alarm clock, groaning and rolling over to crack an eye open. She immediately huffed in distaste and closed her eyes. Rima didn't care if she was late, even on her first day. She was just lapsing into slumber when suddenly something more annoying than the alarm clock interrupted her.

"Rima! Rima, wake up!" Kusukusu, her uber-annoying but super adorable chara was tugging insistently on her bed cover.

"Five more minutes…" Rima muttered sleepily.

"No! It's already half past six and―"

"RIMA! Get your lazy ass up _right now_," her mother screamed from downstairs.

"Leave me ALONE!" Rima screamed back. Kusukusu covered her ears and stating floating around in circles while humming. Rima angrily rolled over and threw the cover off of her petite body. The thought of school suddenly became very welcome to her. No mother, no father and no screaming for eight whole hours.

Rima angrily ripped off her pyjamas and slipped into her new school uniform. Really, transferring halfway through the school year… what had she been _thinking? _Then again, _anything _was better than all the looks she got from the students of her old school. The way they stared at her with pity and sympathy… She didn't want sympathy. She didn't want to be pitied on. She wanted to walk around the halls without hearing the whispers of _that _night. Most of all, she couldn't stand watching her "best friend" smirk at her and whisper lies to her followers. It wasn't Rima's fault her brain had shut down. Not her fault she had acted as if she hadn't been alive. It was not at all her fault.

With nothing left to do, Rima stomped down the stairs furiously. Halfway down the flight Rima spotted the money her father had set aside to pay the bills. With a grin, she swiped all of it. Her father was stinkin' rich; he could afford to lose some money. Having no time for a nutritious breakfast, Rima grabbed a granola bar and some milk to wash it down with.

Her stash of chocolate was still _partially_ alive. The memory of last night still stabbed at her painfully. She'd ignored Kusukusu entirely and sung softly to He is We's _Kiss it Better _and _Too Beautiful. _Not to forget that she ate her way through a _tonne _of chocolate.

Rima slipped into a pair of ballet flats and kicked the door open, deliberately slamming it as hard as she could. Kusukusu pouted beside her, floating heavily in the air. A stab of guilt pulsed through Rima, causing her to squirm. She sighed and pinched her chara's clown pants, pulling the chara towards her face and looking her in the eye. Rima hated it when her chara was sad; she couldn't bear it.

"Kusukusu, please," Rima said softly. "You know I don't like it when you're sad. Smile for me."

Kusukusu studied her bearer before breaking into a genuine smile. Rima nodded and Kusukusu giggled, happily floating around. Frowns did not become of Kusukusu. The chara was meant to be happy and carefree, not weighed down with grief. That was Rima's job, not Kusukusu's.

Rima held her head high with her shoulders back, completely ignoring the stares. She glared at anyone who stood gawking in her path while repeating her favourite quote over and over in her head: _I've been through alotta shit this year but… Imma keep ma head up like ma nose is bleedin'._  
>Some other kids that looked like they went to the same school Rima now attended stared, eyes wide and their jaws practically hitting the ground.<p>

She kept on walking until the school was in her line of vision. Just as she stepped inside the gate, the bell rang signalling class. Rima located the office to collect her timetable for the day. As soon as she walked in, she wanted to run out of there as fast as she could and never look back. It all felt so _fake. _The receptionist's one hundred watt smile, the white walls, trophy case and photos of award winning students… she hated it all.

"Ah, you must be Mashiro-san! We've heard good things about you! Now, here's your timetable―"  
>Rima tuned everything out after that. She wordlessly accepted the slip of paper and walked out the office.<p>

First Period was History, which was held in VPA 8. She vaguely remembered the VPA rooms being located in the easterly part of campus, though she wasn't too sure whether it was indeed the east or the western end. _What the heck, what have I got to lose? _Rima thought to herself. Rima wandered across the lawns and up two flights of stairs until she _finally _reached VPA 8, in the eastern corner of Seiyou. She slid the door open and walked to the teacher's desk. The teacher, Suzuki-sensei, had messy black hair and light olive skin. Despite his bed-head hair, his suit was laundered and pressed until it practically sparkled. He glanced up and immediately grinned when he saw Rima.

"Class! This is our new transfer student I was telling you about, Mashiro Rima. Mashiro-san, is there something you'd like to say about yourself?"

Rima ran her eyes over the class lazily. Pinky (or was her name Ami? Amu?) was sitting by the window and staring lazily at Suzuki-sensei. Pinky's face lit up in a smile and she waved at Rima once she realised who it was. Rima chose to ignore it. She was still boiling over Pinky's actions at the supermarket.

"No," she said. The class visibly squirmed at her tone except for one. He was sitting in the back row with his head cradled in his palms. He was smiling politely at Rima but she sensed something under it all―something screaming _DANGER! STAY AWAY! _She masked a shiver.

It was starting to scare her. She wanted to shrink back in the corner, weeping. That was stupid though because Mashiro Rima _does not _cry_. _Maybe it was it his hair? Because, what sane male had long purple hair? Rima felt her face harden and her glare intensified.

"Well then," her sensei cleared his throat. Kusukusu, who had been hiding behind Rima, floated out. Purple-head and Pinky's eyes widened.

"Rima!" Kusukusu whispered. Rima crossed her arms; a signal for Kusukusu to keep talking. "I sense Guardian Characters!" Pinky and purple freak smiled at the alarmed Kusukusu. They muttered something and their charas flew out from under their desk.

Pinky had four, and purple-head had one. They floated over to Kusukusu and greeted her. To Rima's surprise purple-head's chara―Rhythm, if she'd heard correctly―hugged Kusukusu. Kusukusu squeaked and wriggled from his grasp. Rima stopped watching their little show to look at the sensei. He was playing with some papers on his desk and muttering something under his breath. Rima sighed impatiently. The sensei startled and then scanned the room.

"Fujisaki-kun, you're a good student and I'm sure Mashiro-san will catch on easily with your help. Now, if you could raise your hand…" Rima looked up to see purple-head smiling with a raised hand. _Oh, hell no, _Rima thought. Instead, she glared and sat in the seat next to him.

"I'm Nagihiko. If you need any help, don't hesitate," he whispered in her ear. Rima froze. He was too close.

"If I were you, I'd move that face of yours before you find out what a black eye is," she said stiffly. Something in his topaz eyes was really starting to unsettle her. He was a nice guy, but she couldn't help the shiver that went through her when she caught him looking at her.

He seemed to be _observing _her. Like he were looking deep within her and staring into her very soul. She felt like crawling in a hole.

"Would you stop that?" Rima had finally lost it. After forty-five minutes, she finally couldn't bear it any longer.

"Stop what?" he asked innocently.  
><em><br>How dare him!_ Rima thought furiously. Feigning innocence with _her!_ He must have a death wish. Seriously, what was up with these people?

"_Nothing_," she loaded as much hate, anger and sarcasm in those two syllables yet he continued smiling. Rima felt like ripping her hair out. Instead, she shot him a cold look and continued on with the assignment.

Rima pushed her way out VPA 8. Finally, it was over. Half-way through the lesson, purple-head had said Rima could just call him Nagi. She'd sneered at him and called him by his last name. She had no respect for him whatsoever, so she dropped the honourific.

Rima glared herself a clear path through the hallway and walked to her next class. It was conveniently located in the next building. Rima sat down in an empty seat and glared at the boy who had _previously _occupied it. He stumbled away and sat in the back row. Pinky walked in and scanned the room, smiling when her eyes fell on Rima.

"Mashiro-san!" Pinky called out. She was smiling. Rima felt indifferent. She tuned Pinky out and stared at the front of the room.

Just when she thought her day couldn't get any worse, _he _walked in. Rima didn't care anymore; he could fall in a ditch and die and she still wouldn't mind. She ignored him, just as she was Amu. As she was attempting to tackle the work she'd been given, Rima felt someone staring at her. It was Fujisaki. Rima would _never _forget that feeling. It was like he was gazing inside her, looking in to her past; finding out everything about her…

She really didn't know how she felt when he did it for her mind seemed to go blank. All she knew was that she hated it and she wanted it to stop.

* * *

><p>At lunch, Rima got dragged by Pinky to meet the rest of the chara bearers. She didn't care about them at all and she would rather have gone exploring the school for a private spot to sit and eat. It was impossible to shake Amu off no matter how hard Rima tried.<p>

When they got there, she was annoyed. There was this big baby _thing_ called Yaya with a chara called Pepe who, coincidentally, was a baby. Pinky had four charas because she was seriously messed up. Ran was pink and Pinky's personal cheerio. The blue one was an artist called Miki; Su (A.K.A. Blondie) was Pinky's more womanly and motherly side. The weird yellow one that was staring at Rima creepily was called Dia. She was Pinky's pillar of stone.

Fujisaki's chara was called Rhythm. He was his more confident side. Rima didn't think he needed a chara; he was already so full of himself.

Kukai was crazy. He grinned _way _too much. His chara was just a green haired version of him. Daichi was his name. Kukai was soccer crazy and Daichi was born from his love for it.

Tadase really _was _messed up. Who would want to take over the world? His chara was extremely bossy and more annoying than the entire group put together and multiplied. His name was Kiseki, and he was possibly even fuller of himself than Fujisaki was.

Last was this weird creepy dude that unnerved Rima. His chara was a cat. The thing was a practical jokester and seemed to get on well with Kusukusu. Rima didn't even want to know what they were talking about; the conversation was probably evolved around practical jokes to play on unsuspecting people.

Rima walked away from the group before she turned crazy. An untouched spot was left alone outside the school. It was untamed and right next to the forest so she immediately claimed the spot hers. Rima walked into the forest until she found a lake. She checked her reflection in the clear water and winced. Even her distorted image was able to show how tired she was. How she looked like she'd given up. Which she had.

She used to believe in God, but now she knew that it was just another childhood belief like Santa or the tooth fairy. Just another lie to lead people to believe the world is this great, big wonderful place which it isn't. The world is cruel, selfish and only exists to bring grief to people's lives.

If there really were a God out there, then her life would be like how it used to be, not a living nightmare. Was this some kind of cosmic joke on her? At first she felt like God had been spitting on her. But then she realised, _there was no such thing. God didn't exist. _He never did, and he never will.

Rima punched her reflection, water splashing up around her. There was nothing left in her, so that meant she had no true reflection. The girl she sees is just a projection: just another thing to make the world _seem _normal.

Rima sank under a tall tree and fell asleep. She hoped that the nightmares wouldn't come back. All she needed was one hour of dreamless sleep. Just one hour…

She awoke some time later to brown eyes _very _close to her own. Rima snapped her eyes fully open and watched as what's-his-name chuckled.

"You looked like a doe. So surprised and innocent… then your flight instinct took over. You really are one of a kind," he said with a ridiculous smile on his face.

"Leave me alone," Rima murmured. Due to her lack of memory, she was still having trouble remembering his name.

"Ah, ah , ah," he said while wagging his finger. "If it wasn't for me, you'd have slept your petite self through the last quarter of school."  
><em><br>Fujisakji, that's it! _Rima finally remembered his name. "Leave. Me. _Alone_," she hissed at him. He rolled his eyes at her childish behaviour. Rima couldn't take it anymore; she jumped up and ran from the school, leaving him to stare after her.

There was something about him that sent her on edge. Was it his gaze? The way he looked _through _her? One coherent thought kept replaying itself in her mind: _I will be the cause to his downfall._

* * *

><p><strong>BOOM! So? How was it? Drop a review and tell me, please? I'm anxious to know how people are finding this story so far.<br>**

**Chapter inspired by...  
><em>'Paradise', <em>Coldplay**


	5. CHAPTER 4: Nagihiko

**I'm sorry I haven't updated... I made this chapter extra long to make up for it! Hope you enjoy. **

**I DO NOT OWN _SHUGO CHARA _OR ANY LICENSED PRODUCTS MENTIONED. ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE PUBLISHERS AND/OR PRODUCERS.**

* * *

><p><em><em><em>.::.<span>P<span>**r**e_c_**io**u_s_** S**e_c**r_e_**t_**s** _**a**_n_d_** B**_ea**u**_t**f**ul **L**i**a**_r**s**.::.__

Nagihiko stared as Rima ran from him. He was grinning like the devil. She was just too amusing. _That girl… _he thought while sitting down on the grass. He'd just been walking to _his_ spot to eat lunch when he found her asleep under his favourite tree. _Looks like I'm sharing from now on… _he grinned again and continued to eat.

When he was done, he got up to join the gang, already thinking up an excuse for disappearing. He passed several students on his way over to the benches where his friends mostly hung out. As expected of them, Utau and Amu were sitting on the table while everyone else was sitting on the benches. Nagi smiled charmingly and walked up to them. Yaya pounced on him first.

"Nagi! Welcome back!" Nagihiko laughed at her and pet her head gently. Discretely, he slipped a candy onto her palm to shut her up. Yaya immediately ripped it open and plonked herself next to Kairi. Nagi shook his head. _What do I see in these people? _Nagihiko sat down next to Amu, lost in thought. He didn't really feel like talking at all. Of course, if he remained silent, Amu would notice and start asking questions.

"Hello, Amu-chan. How are you?" Nagi said. _Hopefully that will throw her off my trail._

"Nagi, how many times do I have to say it?" Amu swivelled around and pinned him with a stern glare. "We're best friends, so there's no need for all those manners."

"Sure thing, Amu-chan," Nagihiko smiled politely and watched as Amu threw her hands up in frustration. Nagi smiled grimly and started to think.

He was confused as hell. Nagihiko had never been one to take an interest in girls (he blamed his past experience of having to act like one) but there was something about Rima that lured him to her. She was a _Nagi Magnet_. But that was utter nonsense. He was simply having a bad day. A couple of hours on his punching bag would fix that. As if Kukai had read his mind, his face lit up and he had that _look _in his eyes that immediately made Nagihiko feel alarmed. That look meant trouble.

"Fujisaki…" Kukai drawled in a low voice. Nagihiko felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. "We never finished that bet from a couple of months ago…" Nagi felt like rolling his eyes. _That's because you got so tired you threw up. _Instead, Nagi tilted his head to the side.

"What bet?" Kukai grinned evilly at that.

"You know…"

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about." Ikuto rolled his eyes and spoke up.

"What Souma is trying to say is he demands a rematch on that gym contest you guys did."

"Oh, okay."

"So is that a yes?" Kukai's eyes were sparkling.

"Yes."

"Then you're on, Fujisaki!"

Nagihiko wanted to reply with a snarky comeback. Instead, he shook hands with the lunatic. Five minutes later, the plan was put into action. Nagi would meet Kukai and Ikuto at the local gym where all three of them would compete in the ultimate gym challenge. _A challenge so hard core, it made the all-mighty Kukai throw up his lunch!_ Nagi rolled his eyes at himself. At least he could get his mind off Rima.

Nagihiko found it near impossible to concentrate all through math and English. When the bell finally rang, he bolted out his seat and out the door, sprinting all the way the "home". Nagihiko wanted to run some more, but his mother beckoned him inside when she saw him lingering at the gate. He sighed. He found that when he was running, all thoughts of _her _left his head. Nagi dragged himself inside and stood before his mother.

"Yes, Mama?" he said with a forced smile.

Mrs. Fujisaki, oblivious to her son's inner turmoil, smiled back. "The convention is tomorrow so be prepared, please. I have already taken the liberty to set out a suit for you. A kimono won't be needed, for it is one of those modern meetings for the elites. Upon arriving, I want you to seek out Mr Takashi's daughter and give her the gift I have prepared for you."

"Hai, mama." _Gee, anything else? Would you like me to present their pet cat with a gourmet tin of cat food?  
><em>  
>"That will be all. You are dismissed."<p>

Nagi gladly walked into his bedroom and collapsed on his bed. He groaned before closing his eyes. The weak sunlight filtering through his window was just enough to make him relax. An image of Rima rose to his mind. _She's hiding something. I wonder what it is… _Nagihiko sighed. He knew, with all his heart, that she was hiding something. He just couldn't find it.

Nagi opened his eyes and trudged to his desk. It was homework time. He was only given a light load due to the fact he had completed almost everything over the weekend. Within thirty minutes he was finished. Nagihiko stretched and yawned before grabbing his gym clothes. He wasted no time in walking out the front door. Once he was out the door, he breathed a sigh of relief. He could finally breathe without suffocating.

Before he knew it, there was a skip in his step as he walked to the gym. But that soon ended. Wherever he went, he thought he saw Rima. Rima walking down the street… Rima walking into a store… Rima, Rima, Rima! Nagi felt like falling to his knees on the pavement. _What is she doing to me? _When he looked up, he found he was standing in front of the gym. He could see Kukai through the window, doing a stupid warm up and Ikuto leaning lazily on a treadmill.

Nagihiko burst through the doors, panting. He could already feel eyes on him. Shaking off the incident from before, Nagi made his way over to Ikuto and Kukai.

"Souma, Tsukiyomi," he said politely, covering up his distraught with a smile. Ikuto merrily nodded at him, not moving from his position against the treadmill.

Kukai however narrowed his eyes and with a lowered voice said, "Fujisaki."

Nagihiko desperately wanted to snicker at the mock threatening tone to his usually chipper voice. Ikuto yawned and stretched in a cat-like manner and clapped his hands together.

"Let's get this over with," he drawled. Nagihiko took out his water bottle and a towel, placing them on the seat of a nearby rowing machine and threw his bag to the side.

"On your marks," Ikuto levelled a calm stare on both teens, smirking at the way Kukai jumped up and down like an excited puppy. "Get set―"

"Go!" Kukai shouted and lunged across the treadmill Ikuto was leaning against to the rowing machines. He started rowing like mad. Nagihiko sighed and calmly walked to the rowing machine where his towel and bottle of water were sprawled against. He set the timer for thirty minutes, knowing that Kukai had forgotten. Ikuto laughed and started to pedal lazily on the exercise bike he had relocated to.

Nagihiko started rowing, deciding to take it easy unlike Kukai who was already sweating up a storm. All the girls in gym had moved closer to the trio to watch them work themselves to the limit. Nagi could tell by the way they watched Kukai's shoulder muscles flex that they were just waiting for him to take his shirt off. Nagihiko rolled his eyes and continued rowing.

Though he wasn't going very fast, he could already feel the muscles in his shoulders burning. He welcomed it though. The more he worked himself, the more he forgot about his messed up family and a certain blonde beauty. Not that he thought she was pretty, or anything. She was attractive, sure, but Nagi didn't _like_ her. At least, not in _that _way. Nagi wasn't one to suddenly fall for girls, unlike nearly all the males he knew (that was excluding Ikuto, Kukai, Tadase and Kairi).

Besides, he _couldn't _fall in love with anyone. Not if he wanted his revenge to go smoothly. While he was thinking, he didn't realise that he had sped up with his rowing. Just as he was sure he was going to break the machine, the timer beeped. He slowed down along with Kukai and moved on to the next thing on the list: the weight set.

They started on twenty pounds, and then moved up to thirty, then forty, then forty-five all the way up to forty. By the time they'd reached sixty pounds they had Ikuto walking between them, making sure they didn't accidentally drop the bar on themselves.

"Oh, God," Kukai managed to choke out. "this feels like I'm lifting Utau over my head repeatedly."

"Careful," Ikuto warned. "you wouldn't my sister hearing that now, would you?"

"Utau's here?!" Kukai sat up suddenly and whipped his head back and forth, looking for blonde pigtails and piercing amethyst eyes. Ikuto burst out in a fit of guffaws.

"I can't believe you fell for that."

"Shut up!" Kukai exploded.

"You can be such a kid," Ikuto said through a snicker.

"Tsukiyomi!"

Nagihiko rolled his eyes at the two. He swiftly placed the bar back on the holders and put the locks on, carefully removing the many weights so it wouldn't suddenly flip and land on his foot. Once everything was put back in its proper place he hit the treadmill. Music blasted in his ears. All in all, it was the perfect distraction. He had a treadmill facing the windows, so whenever a girl walked passed they would stop and gawk. Nagihiko had long ago taken his shirt off because it was soaked.

Twenty minutes later he thought he saw something that had enough power to nearly make him fall off the treadmill. He thought he saw Rima walking passed the window. Despite the scowl on her face, something about her seemed _different_ to Nagihiko. Whether it was the whole new level of iciness in her eyes or the way she held her face in that perfect mask of plain nothingness, he could tell there was something wrong with her. But it was gone in a moment. In a matter of seconds she was the same Rima he'd observed walking home only a night ago.

Nagihiko shook his head to clear his mind of those thoughts. He'd only known her for a few days and he already knew what the "normal" Rima looked like. Rima suddenly stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. She froze, and then turned slowly to the windows. Nagihiko was taken by surprise. She glared at him with everything she had. Nagihiko shivered slightly; she could be pretty scary at times. He raised a hand and smiled innocently at her, and watched as she stalked off. She really did look brilliant in the afternoon light. Nagi found himself wondering what she would look like if she actually smiled.

An insistent beeping interrupted Nagihiko's train of thought. He slowly came to a stop and wiped his face off with the towel draped around his neck. When he glanced over at Ikuto, he found that he had already moved on to the next station. Nagi rolled his eyes. Two hours had passed and just as he was starting to calm down, _she _disturbed his peace.

A loud groan to the side of him made Nagi snap his head to the treadmill next to him. He grinned at the sight when he was sure no one was watching. Kukai was a slightly green colour as he stood on the sides of the treadmill, the track whizzing by. Nagihiko wanted to burst out laughing. It took him all he had to not start laughing on the spot. A small chuckle managed to escape his pursed lips.

"Once again," Ikuto announced. "Fujisaki takes the win." Kukai managed a scowl before he collapsed on the floor breathing like a fish out of water. Nagihiko could just see that happening. Kukai put way too much energy in from the very beginning. For the captain of the soccer team, he really was a dimwit.

"Good luck next time, Kukai," Nagihiko said before wiping his face off. Lending a hand to the fallen soccer star, Nagi pulled Kukai up and helped him to the change rooms. He dumped Kukai on one of the benches before hitting the showers. It felt so good to rinse all the sweat off his body. Over the noise of the water bouncing off the concrete floor, Nagihiko could hear Kukai groaning at sore muscles.

"Shut up, Souma! You're the one who came up with this stupid idea!"

"Like you can complain, Tsukiyomi! All you did was lean against all the equipment and do jack―"

Nagihiko drowned out the rest of Kukai's words. All he wanted to do was go home and collapse on his bed. He was dressed and out the door within a minute. On the way home, he found himself daydreaming of a time where he wasn't seeking revenge, and found that he'd never _not_ dreamt of revenge. Even as a young boy he'd fantasized of that one day when the world of "elites" would collapse all thanks to him.

By the time he got home it was dark and he was starving. Making a quick pit-stop in the kitchen, Nagi scoffed down whatever food he could find and ditched his gym bag in the laundry. He made sure to shut the door softly to his room and leant against it. His ochre eyes scanned the room, but found nothing out of the ordinary. Nagihiko sighed and stripped off his shirt and pulled on some sweat pants. Before he settled down in bed, he sought out his book of secrets and read a few pages.

_Name: _ _Hoshina Kazoumi_

_Profile: 56 years old; tall and tough-looking, black hair, visibly aged. Head of Easter since its  
>grand opening in 2000. His fiancé, Sanjou Yukari, cheated on him with Nikaidou Yuu, a former employee of his overly successful company. He is currently un-married. His grandson, Hikaru, is the head of Easter (also known as <em>_"Gozen")._

_Scandal: Raised his grandson from birth. Though he is only around seven or eight years-old, he is head of Easter. Kazoumi is planning to _ _use his grandson's knowledge to his advantage by buying all well-known companies in Japan and using his grandson to haul in money by the millions. Once he has gained reign of Japan's marketing force, he is planning to sell his grandson to America, hence the reason he shows no love to his daughter's son. He will become Japan's richest man and plans on only using the money for his own selfish deeds. _

Nagihiko's eyes twinkled. He couldn't wait to expose this secret. He could already imagine that sick man's face when he found out his "grand" plan was ruined. Nagi lifted the floorboard he'd skilfully pulled up and placed his notebook inside the little cavern filled with treasures. He made sure to place the floorboard back properly in place and pulled the rug carefully back on the floor. A knock on the door startled him.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Young master, where would you like me to leave your towels for your morning rituals?"

"Just leave them outside my door. I'll get them in the morning."

Nagihiko collapsed onto his bed and almost immediately fell asleep, images of Rima floating around in his head.

* * *

><strong>Chapter 4 is complete! How did you all find it? I'm tried to relieve some of the angty-ness with Kukai's famous idiocy (don't worry, I'm a HUGE Kukai fan. I mean no harm!)<strong>

**Chapter inspired by...  
>'Lose Yourself', Eminem<strong> 


	6. CHAPTER 5: Rima

**So... hey again! You guys must love me! Two chapter in TWO DAYS! Does that make up for not updating in months? ;) ENJOY!**

**I DO NOT OWN _SHUGO CHARA _OR ANY LICENSED PRODUCTS MENTIONED. ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE PUBLISHERS AND/OR PRODUCERS.**

* * *

><p><em><em><em>.::.<span>P<span>**r**e_c_**io**u_s_** S**e_c**r_e_**t_**s** _**a**_n_d_** B**_ea**u**_t**f**ul **L**i**a**_r**s**.::.__

Rima shouldered open the front door and sprinted right passed her parents. She took the stairs two at a time and threw herself on her bed. It took a few moments, but her beating heart finally slowed down. Despite her out-of-breath state, she still managed a glare at her pillow. _That stupid purple head! _Rima screamed into her pillow to let out all her frustrations. _Why is he so―so― eungh!  
><em>  
>"Rima!" Kusukusu cried in her ear. "Rima, it's okay!"<p>

"It's not okay, Kusukusu," Rima said stiffly. She lifted her head so her chara could see her angry face. "No one, _no one_, has ever been able to look me in the eye, smile, and _not _crumble. What is wrong with that purple-headed _freak_?"

"I'm sure he has a valid reason as to why is able to look you in the eye without walking away unlike everyone else we've ever met," Kusukusu mused.

"And the way he looks at me! I feel like tearing his face off!" Rima heaved a tired sigh and sat up.

"I need music," she mumbled, almost to herself. She ended up pumping '_She will be Loved',_by Maroon 5. The distant arguing from the dining room was immediately drowned out.

Kusukusu threw a worried look to her bearer. It wasn't normal for Rima to get that worked up over something that common. _That girl_, she thought in her head. Almost immediately, a wave of sadness fell over Kusukusu. The last time she was that worked up over something was… Kusukusu couldn't even remember. Rima had always been closed off.

Meanwhile, Rima was watching her chara in wonderment. Without Kusukusu, she didn't know where she would be. And right now, her little saviour was frowning.

"Kusukusu," Rima said gently. Kusukusu looked up at Rima in puzzlement. "Kusukusu, come here." Kusukusu obliged and floated toward her bearer.

"Hai?"

"Smile for me," Rima said. "Please." Kusukusu stared at her for a while before breaking out into a true, genuine grin.

"Rima!" Kusukusu cried joyfully. She floated to Rima's cheek and huddled against it, breathing out a sigh of contempt.

"Let's go to bed," Rima said softly.

* * *

><p><em>The footsteps got faster and faster. Rima was terrified by this point. She started sprinting as fast as she could on her short legs. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins and her vision had narrowed. She didn't know where she was going. All she knew was that she had to get away. Just as she thought she had a chance at escaping, a sleek black van pulled up next to her. The footsteps were gaining on her.<em>

She risked a peek back and instantly regretted it. In that second she looked back, she hadn't noticed the bump in the side walk ahead of her. Rima flew forward and hit the sidewalk hard enough to knock the breath from her lungs. She felt a pair of large hands roughly pull her up and into the van. Rima tried to scream, but her attacker placed a grimy hand on her mouth.

"If I were you girly, I keep my mouth shut and do what I say," he whispered in her ear. Rima smelt alcohol on his breath and immediately felt alarmed. He took advantage of her momentary pause and―

Rima bolted upright in bed, gasping. A cold sweat covered every inch of her body and she was shivering violently. Empty sobs escaped her lips, yet no tears fell. Rima shakily pulled herself out of her bed and into the bathroom, where she clung onto the doorframe like it was a life raft. Rima took a few steps into the bathroom and closed the door. She stripped off her soaked clothes and stepped into the shower.

The warm water immediately relaxed her knotted muscles and the scent of rose petals and strawberries wafted around her. Rima felt herself calming down slowly. She lathered body wash all over herself again, massaging her body. Her hair smelt of comforting vanilla musk, her favourite. When she'd lathered, rinsed, and repeated until she'd calmed down, Rima stepped out the shower and into the chilly air.

Goosebumps immediately raced across her skin. Rima grasped a towel and wrapped herself in it, standing still for a moment to get used to the coolness. After a minute or so, Rima patted her body dry and wrapped her hair in a towel. She slipped on the black tank top and cotton baby blue sleeping shorts she'd grabbed to sleep in. When Rima finally got back to bed, the glowing red digitalised numbers on the bane of her existence read _3:47 A.M. _She sighed and rolled over. At least it was Saturday tomorrow.

_Mom should be coming home soon… _As if on cue, Rima heard the front door click open and stumbling around. A loud crash alerted Rima that her mother had passed out on the floor. She slid out of bed and down the stairs quietly and scoffed at her unconscious mother. Rima silently closed the front door and grabbed her mother's handbag, sorting through it. Her purse was empty and the pictures on her phone made Rima gag.

She deleted them instantly and climbed back to bed. She really should have stayed behind to kick her mother in the head, but what was the point when her mother wouldn't remember it in the morning? Kusukusu was snoring slightly on one of Rima's many cushions. She felt her gaze soften. Only Kusukusu could bring these emotions out of her. Rima snuggled under the covers and fell into a deep sleep.

Shouting was what woke Rima. She groaned and rolled over.

"Why should _I_look after her? She's not a baby anymore!"

"She's your daughter!" her father roared.

"She's as good as nothing to me! I hate―" a loud _smack!_ echoed around the empty halls of the house. Rima froze. _He couldn't have… _Rima shot up in bed and sprinted down the stairs, tripping a few times and stumbling but she kept going.

When she got to the living room, her eyes widened at the scene before her. There was her father, breathing heavily with clenched fists and her mother; glaring at the man she called her husband. There was a hole in the wall that Rima was sure wasn't there earlier that morning when she "took care" of her mother. Despite the fact the woman hated her she was still Rima's mother. Her daughterly instinct took over and she had ran down the stairs to make sure her father hadn't hit her mother.

"Rima," her father said stiffly.

"Hai?" she drawled in her usual bored tone, her mask immediately in place.

"Take your mother to her room."

Her mother glared at her and Rima scoffed. "I'm not going anywhere," her mother said.

"Get up," Rima said. Anger sparked in Rima when her mother shook her head. "Get. Up," she snarled, enunciating each word precisely and clearly. When her mother further protested, Rima squatted down and hissed in her ear.

"If you don't get up _right now_, I swear to God, I will get dad to hire a hitman to _kill_your little Karou. Are we clear?" Rima grabbed her mother by the collar of her over-sized white button down and pulled her up the stairs.

"No!" her mom screeched. Rima ignored her mother completely. She tossed her mother into her room and locked the door. Kusukusu came out of Rima's room, looking forlorn and terrified.

"Rima…"

"I'm fine," Rima said icily. She stormed into her room and pulled on some skinnies.

"I'm going out," Rima said to her father stiffly.

"I won't be here when you get back," he replied. Rima paused at the front door.

"Why?"

"I have a business trip," he said emotionlessly.

"Whatever," Rima didn't even look back at her father. She kept walking. Kusukusu followed after Rima silently.

"Rima, where are we going?" Kusukusu said after a while.

To be honest, Rima didn't really know. She was going wherever her feet took her. She was relying on Kusukusu to make sure she didn't accidentally walk into a car or fall over. She was thinking about how lonely she would be all alone at home. Rima knew her mother would probably never be there, for she would be having "fun" with her flavour of the week, Karou. She had only seen pictures of him, though they weren't pleasant, and knew that he would be gone soon. Then after Karou, her mother would probably move onto the next man.

Tinkling wine glasses and laughter disturbed Rima's thoughts. She was instantly disgusted. In front of her were hundreds of people dressed in fancy Western clothes getting out of even more fancier cars, glasses of champagne in hand. Rima's feet stopped as if they had a mind of their own. She observed them like a hawk, wondering what the heck was going on.

"Rima, I'm hungry," Kusukusu whined.

"Let's go then," she said. Just as she was about to walk away, she felt eyes on her. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. Rima recognised that stare. She turned around slowly, only to find herself caught in a familiar purple head's gaze.

Kusukusu giggled at the two of them. They looked so cheesy! Staring at each other from across the road… Kusukusu burst out laughing. Rima blinked and glared at him icily, yet all he did was smile innocently and wave. He was gone in an instant. Rima stood there on the sidewalk, dumbfounded. He was really starting to get on her nerves. She could feel her fists clenching. _He's going to pay… _she thought to herself. Rima stormed away with Kusukusu trailing behind her, giggling.

Within minutes they were home, where Rima started making brunch for her and Kusukusu. Her father had indeed left, and he had even fixed the wall. There was only plasterboard dust left to remind her that it had actually happened. Rima heard her mother screaming like a banshee from her room. She tried to ignore the woman as best as she could but halfway through her comedy show, she couldn't take it anymore.

Rima stomped up the stairs and threw the door open to her mother's room. The place was a mess. Her mother glanced up at her for only a moment before continuing to wail. Wordlessly, Rima grabbed a bag from the closet and stuffed it full with clothes.

"Get out," she ordered.

"_What_?" her mother screeched.

"You heard me. Get out."

"No!" her mother cried. "I will not be thrown out my own home by a child!"

"Well then, consider it a vacation. You're welcome to come back any time you like. Until dad comes back, I can't handle it,"

"_No_! I won't leave!"

"Then shut the hell up and listen to me," Rima hissed. "You _will not _bring _anyone _home with you. You _will not _scream like you just were. The last thing I need to deal with is the police. Lastly, you will leave me alone. Do we have a deal?"

"Fine!" her mother sobbed. Rima scoffed at her mother.

"You're a pathetic excuse for a woman. But I'm sure you know that," Rima said icily and stalked out the room.

Later that night Rima decided to pump some music, eat the rest of her candy and go on her computer. She'd always loved comedy and used to spend hours on her computer, writing up skits and jokes. Over the music she heard an almighty crashing sound. _Mom's left, _she thought to herself. Rima waited a few minutes and climbed downstairs. She shut and locked the front door, double checking the windows and the back door.

Rima climbed back up the stairs and pulled on some flannelette sleeping pants and a black long sleeved shirt. Kusukusu was already asleep. She wasn't fond of staying up late at all. Rima yawned and checked the time, her eyes lazily wandering across the computer screen. She yawned again and shut the computer down. The modern computer turned off instantly.  
>Rima climbed into bed and reached up to hit the switch above her head. Her upright lamp blinked out, allowing pale moonlight to stream in through the cracks in the curtains.<p>

When she closed her eyes, she found herself thinking up images of Fujisaki. She had to admit, he _did_look nice in that suit. It was a sleek fit and show cased all his muscles and sculpted chest.

Rima shook her head to clear her mind of those images. _What the hell is he doing to me? _Rima managed to think before she fell asleep.

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><p><strong>I won't nag you guys to review, but it won't hurt to drop a line, right? Well, that's all from me for now but expect an update soon, okay? Thanks for reading! :D<br>**

**Chapter inspired by...  
><em>'Welcome To My Life,' <em>Simple Plan AND _'She Will be Loved', _Maroon 5**


	7. CHAPTER 6: Nagihiko

**Here's chapter 6 of _Precious Secrets and Beautiful Liars_! I hope it appeals to all of your expectations... **

**I DO NOT OWN ANY LICENSED PRODUCTS MENTIONED IN THIS FANFIC. ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE PUBLISHERS/PRODUCERS.**

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><p><em><em><em>.::.<span>P<span>**r**e_c_**io**u_s_** S**e_c**r_e_**t_**s** _**a**_n_d_** B**_ea**u**_t**f**ul **L**i**a**_r**s**.::.__

Nagihiko sighed. The car ride to the meeting had been torturous. His mother had _insisted _on coming along. She spent the entire time blabbing in his ear, telling him who to speak to and who to avoid. He already knew from his father who to steer clear of. He wasn't stupid. Nagi was glad when the car stopped. He unbuckled his seat belt and bid farewell to his mother. She merely nodded at him as the car drove away. The package in his hand felt heavy as he walked into the threshold where the meeting would take place. He was instantly greeted with chatter and laughter.

"Ah, it's the young Fujisaki!" a fat man wrapped a chubby arm around Nagihiko's shoulders and beamed down at him.

"Good morning, Mr. Takahashi. How are you?" Nagihiko asked politely.  
>"I'm doing perfect! But, I bet you're looking for my daughter?" Mr. Takahashi winked and gave Nagihiko a knowing smile.<p>

"Yes, I am. Would you happen to know where she is?" Nagihiko asked politely.

"I believe my lovely Hinata is in her room. That's on the fourth floor on the first door to your right. Good luck!"  
>Mr. Takahashi released Nagihiko and went to talk to another potential ally. Nagihiko walked up the three flights of stairs to Takahashi Hinata's room. There was a lovely vase on a stand at the end of the desolate hall. Nagihiko glanced at the golden plate to find that it was made in France, 1414 by a famous artist. Nagihiko rolled his eyes. He made his way back to the first door on the right and knocked.<p>

"Who is it?" a warm feminine voice called from inside the room.

"It's Fujisaki Nagihiko. My father and your father are business partners. I have a gift for you," he added smoothly. The door opened to reveal a slender young woman with blonde hair and emerald eyes. She had a kind and gentle gaze, but Nagihiko could see the inner rebel inside. He wanted to smirk. What rich _daddy's little girl _wasn't a rebel on the inside? None. Nagihiko had yet to come across a daughter who was naturally kind and gentle, not a fake. Hina held the door open for him.

"Come in, Fujisaki-san," she said gently. Nagihiko stepped inside the huge room. This girl had _everything_. Nagihiko bowed politely, holding out the gift.

"I hope you like it. I wasn't quite sure what I should get for a woman as beautiful as you." _I hope you like the stupid thing my mom picked out for you. You do know this is part of the plan, right? Make you fall in love with me so we could get married and keep the Fujisaki-Takahashi name strong with our kids. But that's _if_ I propose, which I won't. I'm not going to please my stupid parents by following their even more stupid plan. It's just fun to mess with you. Sorry if your father and I got your hopes up. _

"Thank you Fujisaki-san. I greatly appreciate the gift," Hinata smiled warmly and took the gift from his outstretched hands. She gently placed it on her vanity table and smiled again. Taking the hint, Nagihiko stuck out an elbow and smiled.

"Would you like to accompany me to the meeting?" he asked. Hinata smiled and Nagi smirked inwardly at the slight blush on her cheeks. _I'm turning more and more into Ikuto each day… _Nagihiko was instantly horrified at the thought. He shook it off and led Hinata out of the room and down the stairs where the meeting would take place. Many people smiled warmly at them, and they were stopped numerous times by smilingbeaming, utterly _repulsive _rich people. When they finally reached the large room, Nagihiko was beyond relieved. He pulled the chair out for Hinata and sat beside her.

Mr. Takahashi's booming voice echoed around the entire villa. "Come, everyone! Let us begin our annual meeting!"  
>Nagihiko sighed. Three and a half hours of listening to elites complain about the lack of hygiene in public toilets.<p>

"I think we'll start with Fujisaki!"

Nagihiko sighed quietly. He looked and smiled charmingly, and was rewarded with a couple dreamy sighs and a glare from Hinata to anyone who dared to even _look _at him. Nagi was laughing his head off inside. He covered his amusement with a smile and got down to business.

"I'm sure you all know me. For those who may not or who have forgotten, I am the heir to the Fujisaki-Takahashi  
>business. I am here for my Father, who is currently in Europe attending to business matters. During his absence the business has sky-rocketed, with up to a seventy-percent rise in sales―" Nagihiko turned into a machine. He started reciting a bunch of utterly useless numbers and percentages that his mother drilled him into remembering.<p>

Mr. Takahashi was staring at him incredulously, as if he couldn't believe a mere sixteen year-old could know that much. The shock on Mr. Takahashi's face mirrored that of nearly every person in the room, except for Hinata, who looked ridiculously proud. For extra effect, he would glance across to her and smile but something deep inside him would throb in regret whenever he did. He was seriously baffled and felt like screaming. It was times like these when he would work his body to the limit. But he doubted he could just jump up and start doing push ups on the floor in a suit.

Nagihiko felt himself getting increasingly agitated, though he never showed it on the outside. When he'd finished his part, there were a billion questions. He answered the questions to the best of his abilities and tried to not be rude, or let his inner panic leak onto the outside. Nagihiko was quite proud of himself when he made it through without slipping up once. Mr. Takahashi was beaming at Nagihiko, eyes twinkling.

"My boy, I'm glad you're the heir! I couldn't have asked for a better person to take over the Fujisaki-Takahashi company!"

"I'm honoured to be able to uphold such an amazing company," he replied politely. Mr. Takahashi beamed again and wrapped an arm around Nagihiko's shoulders, raising a wine glass.

"I declare a toast to Fujisaki!" he cried.

"A toast!" everyone else chimed.

"A toast," Hinata purred seductively in his ear. Nagihiko, despite himself, shivered in disgust. Hinata didn't see it that way though. She saw it as a masked shiver of want. Nagihiko desperately wanted to move ten metres away from her, but her grip on his elbow remained firm. _The rebel's arisen, _he though sarcastically.

Shaking off his disgust, Nagihiko studied each person as they spoke. He already knew all their secrets, but that didn't stop him from chuckling to himself when he saw Yukari repeatedly glancing towards Kazoumi's ridged and annoyed form. It was beyond funny watching those two studiously ignore each other. When Satou Mizuki opened her mouth and let out a torrent of lies, Nagihiko wondered when someone would gag her but, how could he forget, only he knew she was lying. Her family's business had collapsed more than a year ago, yet they still boasted about its "high profits" and "immense popularity".

"Soon our business will expand to America!" she glanced at Kazoumi, and he smiled knowingly at her. It was then that Nagihiko made a connection that tied everything together. _How did I not realize before! _he yelled at himself. It was all so clear now.

Kazoumi had no son to take over his companies when he was dead, and Mizuki's company had fallen to nothing. So, in order to have a son to take over, he'd promised Mizuki that he would help her rebuild the company if she married him and gave him a child. The combination of Satou and Hoshina was worth millions and millions. What woman would turn down Japan's richest man's proposal of marriage? And her company would prosper more than ever since its founding in 1956 due to the added Hoshina name. It was a recipe for absolute and undefeated success.

Nagihiko was now itching to get home and write about his little discovery. He could barely contain his excitement all through the meeting. When it was finally finished, he decided that he'd wait outside for Kazoumi to confirm if his suspicions were indeed true. A few minutes of talking to him and his fiancé would confirm if he was right.

"See you later Takahashi-chan!" Nagihiko called out to Hinata.

"Please, call me Hina, Fujisaki-sempai," she ordered gently. Nagi smiled politely.

"Then you can call me Nagihiko," he said before leaving. He twisted a path through the men and women and daughters conversing. He got pulled over a few times in his pursuit for the front door, but managed to escape quickly. He could not, however, dodge Mr. Takahashi's arm

"Fujisaki! Where are you going in such a hurry?" he beamed.  
>"I was just about to ask Mr. Hoshina if he could give me a few tips on the best ways to succeed." <em>That should get you to like me more.<em> Mr. Takahashi let out a booming laugh.

"I like you, boy! I just hope you're not toying with me…" he narrowed his eyes at Nagihiko, trying to figure out if he was genuine. Nagihiko laughed it off and grinned widely at the man.

"Of course not! I can assure you, my best interests are directed towards to the company." Nagihiko smiled once more at the beaming man and sped off to the door.

He stood there on the grass, surrounded by men and women holding wine glasses and laughing, flashy cars driving off into the distance and some pulling up to deposit other people who came for the grand lunch being held there in the villa by Mr. Takahashi. Nagi waited until he saw Kazoumi's head bobbing toward him.

"Mr. Hoshina!" he called out. The man turned and made eye contact with Nagihiko.

"What is it, boy?" he asked grumpily. Mizuki was watching the exchange between the two, perched on Kazoumi's arm like a parrot. She smiled at him, but Nagihiko only half-heartedly returned it.

"I just wanted to ask you a few questions," he admitted.

"On?" Kazoumi raised an eyebrow at Nagihiko.

"The little tricks of the trade. There has to be cheats, otherwise no one would have made it this far in the corporate world."  
>Kazoumi and Mizuki shared a slightly panicked glance. That only confirmed Nagihiko's suspicions.<p>

"What?" he almost roared. "Get out of my sight, boy. If you're going to build a business, you do it the hard way! Now, scram!" _Like you can talk, you old wrinkly bastard. You and your hag are exactly the same. You might want to be careful. _Nagihiko walked away, grinning like the Cheshire cat. _When I'm through with you, there will be nothing left._

He stopped walking and scanned the crowd. Everyone there had a secret, had committed a sin. But, didn't everybody? Hell, even _he _had a secret, had a sin to his name. He was tricking people into believing he was something he wasn't. He was a master of illusion. Isn't that the worst sin there was? Worming your way into people's heads and fooling them into believing something miles from the truth?

When Nagihiko looked up, he saw Rima across the street staring at everyone like he had been. She looked disgusted. Nagi found himself wondering why she was there, and what she was disgusted at. As hard as he tried to dig into her thoughts, he couldn't. He found himself getting extraordinarily frustrated at himself. Nagi breathed in slowly and tried again. He made sure to read her body language, which was screaming _repulsion_. He looked deep into her eyes, but found nothing but blankness.

Her chara was whining, with a pained look on her face. Nagihiko, no matter how many times he tried, could not read her. He hissed in frustration. She suddenly turned to walk away, but froze. She pinned an icy glare on Nagihiko. He was slightly amused at that. They shared a moment, her glaring and he smiling. Nagihiko found himself wondering what she was thinking. Was she truly angry? Or was that a façade, a mask?

He knew he shouldn't be thinking those kinds of things, but he couldn't help himself. Their staring was suddenly interrupted when her chara started laughing. They both snapped out of it. Nagihiko could hear the chara's chortling from the other side of the road. Rima glared one last time and walked away. Nagihiko chuckled to himself and began his long pursuit home.

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><p>As soon as Nagi walked into his house, he sprinted to his room and put on some <em>real <em>clothes. His comfy sweats and no shirt were perfect for a workout. He sprinted down the stairs and to the backyard where he immediately started punching away at the punching bag. He was worried the poor thing would tear under his forceful slams.

Nagihiko spent the entire day outside, and when he was finished he was aching. But it was one of those _good _aches. The kind of ache that signifies that you're calm; that you've slammed out all your worries, frustrations, _everything _and now you're ready for a long rest. Nagi made himself a sandwich before heading up to his room, eating on the way. It was gone in six bites.

He had a cold shower before unearthing his notebook to write in his latest revelation. Nagihiko drew an arrow across the double page, connecting Kazoumi and Mizuki. Once he'd finished, he put the notebook back and collapsed on his bed. Just as he was dozing off, Rhythm decided to interrupt.

"Oi," he called out. Nagihiko ignored him. "Oi, Fujisaki!"

When Rhythm poked Nagihiko, he just about exploded.

"What?" he hissed through clenched teeth.

"I was just wondering how today went!" Rhythm asked nervously.

"It went fine. Now go to sleep," he added. Rhythm obliged and sat himself on Nagihiko's shoulder. He was asleep instantly.  
><em><br>I wonder what she's doing right now_, was his last coherent thought before he fell asleep.

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><p><strong>Well, that's it. I won't nag you guys to review 'cause I know how annoying it is but seriously, it won't hurt <em>at all <em>to drop a line. Even if it's a simple 'I like your story', I don't care. I'm the kind of author who gets inspiration knowing that people read and love my work. Okay, now that that's over -_-.. I would like to thank:  
><strong>**_  
>AnimeAddict2000<br>Miyuki Satomi  
>XxHate's-A-Strong-WordxX<br>Guest (DP)  
>cutevampkitten03<em>**

**Thank you! You guys inspired me to write this chapter and I hope you enjoy it as much as you enjoyed all the others! **

**ANNOUNCEMENT: I will be writing a one shot in partner to this story. It will be a songfic to _'One More Night', _by Maroon 5. It will be in Nagi's POV, I won't reveal too much now, only that you should be warned: the one shot will be posted later on. If you read it now, it will spoil the rest of this story.**

**This chapter inspired by...  
><em>'Decoy', <em>by Paramore**


	8. CHAPTER 7: Rima

**I DO NOT OWN _SHUGO CHARA _OR ANY OTHER LICENSED PRODUCTS MENTIONED. ALL RIGHTS GO TO .**

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><p><em><em>.::.<span>P<span>**r**e_c_**io**u_s_** S**e_c**r_e_**t_**s** _**a**_n_d_** B**_ea**u**_t**f**ul **L**i**a**_r**s**.::._

Rima woke to a strange silence that would usually be non-existent in the Mashiro household. She relished in the moment before snuggling back under her covers. Kusukusu was still asleep on her cushion, much to Rima's enjoyment. Kusukusu was untamable in the mornings. Her alarm went off before she could even close her eyes. She groaned and slammed her palm down on the battery-operated demon. It was Monday; time for school.

Rima forced herself out of bed and to her wardrobe, where she rummaged around the mess until she pulled out her uniform. Sunday had been absolutely one hundred-percent eventless. She'd spent the entire day in her room pumping Coldplay and The Fray. _Stitches in Paradise _had finally been completed after hours of hard work. It was the last instalment in her comedy trilogy which she'd started a little over a year ago. To her the title was ingenious. It had a double meaning: stitches referring to laughing pains and stitches from the character's latest scheme gone wrong.

Although she'd worked her butt off for months, she knew it wasn't worth getting excited about. She'd never publish the darn blasted thing, so what was the point in getting her hopes up? It was fated to a life of sitting inside a computer's operating system, using up precious gigs that could be used for many other, brilliant things.

Rima unplugged her iPod from its dock and walked calmly down the stairs, satchel in hand. Kusukusu floated tiredly behind her, rubbing her eyes. A soft thump alerted her that Kusukusu had accidentally floated into the wall.

"Oww!" she whined. Rima rolled her eyes at her chara's early morning stupidity. Really, she didn't know how Kusukusu could possibly be her would-be self. She knew for a fact she didn't act like a drunken child in the mornings.

"_Riiima."  
><em>  
>"No," her reply was instant. Whenever Kusukusu drawled her name out like that, she either wanted something peculiar and out-of-this-world, or she demanded attention. A silent moment passed and Rima indulged in it. Silence was her best friend.<p>

"_Riiima."  
><em>  
>Rima ignored Kusukusu totally and continued packing a small lunch and re-filled her plastic water bottle.<p>

"_Riiima!_"

Goddamitt―what the hell do you want?" she hissed, finally cracking. Kusukusu pouted her tiny lips at Rima.

"I was just going to ask for a piece of chocolate, but it seems like you're not in the mood…." Kusukusu glanced painfully at the cabinet, having memorised the exact spot where the chocolate was kept even through the other side of the door. Rima sighed irritably and swung the door open, already on her tip-toes to reach the second highest shelf. She managed to grab onto a bar before she lost her footing and crashed into the cabinet.

"_Ouch_," she yelped when her hip hit the edge of the counter and her elbow made contact with the hard wooden floor. Rima jumped up and scowled at the kitchen counter. _Why does it have to be so damn sharp? _she thought while rubbing her already bruised hip. For some reason, an image of that goddamned Fujisaki popped into her head. Rima scowled again.

"Let's go, Kusukusu," Rima said stiffly. Kusukusu had been floating in the corner, rolling her eyes and giggling, while Rima had stumbled and cursed in a variety of languages.

"But, my chocol―!" before Kusukusu could finish her complaint, Rima had shoved a tiny piece of chocolate in Kusukusu's open mouth. She broke a square off for herself and placed the rest in her pocket. She was about to step out the door when she realised something; it was raining. Rima could feel her face turning red in anger. Somehow, she just _knew _that the day would purely suck. Rima grabbed an umbrella and stormed outside.

She loathed rain with a strong, untamable passion. It was raining the night she was abducted. It had rained the entire two weeks she'd been held captive. The day she'd been found was not much better and rain had not failed to let its presence known when her kidnappers were sentenced to two years house arrest. She could imagine everything in her head almost like it had only happened a few seconds ago; the relieved faces of her captors and the grim look on the judge's face when he admitted―actually _admitted_―that there were not enough prison cells available to house the team of seven (or was it eight?).

Her parents had been livid, her lawyer dejected on a case lost. 'That's not enough time!' her mother had yelled. 'Hush now, Mrs. Mashiro,' her good for nothing lawyer had snapped. Her father had sat stony-faced as a heated argument formed. Her mother had kept glancing back at her father, silently begging for him to get up and help defend their "traumatised" daughter. _Traumatised? _she had thought to herself. Trauma was certainly not what she was suffering from. Hell, she didn't even know for herself what she was suffering from but it was most certainly not trauma. She at least knew _that_. She'd walked through countless psychiatrists' doors and heard that same word over and over again. _'She's just suffering from trauma.' 'Give her some time and she'll recover with flying colours. Most trauma patients do.' 'It's trauma! Everything points towards trauma!' . _But it wasn't. It _was not_trauma.

_Trauma, _she thought stiffly, _an emotional wound or shock often having long-lasting effects. _Rima was not damaged goods. She may be scared of going out at night; she may wake up every night from a fitful sleep of night terrors but she wasn't traumatized. She refused to believe that she was traumatized. The looming gates in front of her pulled her from her thoughts. _Oh yay, another day of torture_, she thought before walking in and glaring herself a path through high school students.

She found her mind lingering on a certain someone: her best friend. They'd been inseparable; almost like they'd been stitched together at the hip. They had met at pre-school and joined the same elementary school when the time was right. They'd graduated into middle school together and even shared the same neighbourhood. Their late night talks at sleepovers soon turned from _My Little Pony _and _Barbie _to boys, hot singers and actors, clothes to all things girly. Hide-and-seek games transformed into giving blind make-overs and spending their weekly allowances on cheap manicures and pedicures.

Then a month after her fourteenth birthday she'd been taken. When she had returned, her "best friend" had turned into the school slut. Her shirt was a scrap of hot pink cloth and her shorts barely covered her behind. After a month of trying to find her best friend, the person Rima remembered her as, Aki started spreading rumours. Apparently, Rima had befriended a guy on the internet and decided to meet him the night she'd been "stolen". She'd jumped in the car with him and drove away to his house, where she spent two months participating in Japan's "biggest orgy". When one of the guys supposedly got her pregnant, Rima had run back home where she took the entire group of men to court and prosecuted them of kidnap.

Whenever Rima passed her ex-best friend, she and her little posse would whisper 's_lut' _and trip her over, where they'd kick and punch her, ripping up her books and bag. Her uniform would mysteriously "disappear" while she'd been in the showers after P.E. She'd run out of the bathroom the first time, only to have her towel stolen from her as well. The second time they did it Rima had curled up on the concrete floor and let out a torrent of tears. No one, not even the quiet girls, took pity on her. They'd whisper the words '_slut, bitch, whore, skank' _while they watched her cry.

_They don't know what happened. She can't expect them to believe that story. I was kidnapped! I didn't run away! _Rima would think those words over and over again until they became a continuous drone in her head. The nightmares started not long after. At first it was of _that_ night, the one that changed her life forever. Her kidnappers' face would slowly morph into the faces of her fellow middle schoolers and then an eerie drone of _'slut, bitch, whore, skank…. slut, bitch, whore, skank' _would fill her mind, getting louder and louder in her head until she woke up screaming. Her parents started fighting that night, and then her mother turned into all of the things she was haunted by. They moved two years later.

_Stop thinking about that. It's all in the past. _Rima wiped her face, begging her mask to stay intact, to not let her down after all those years. She raised her head and kept walking, imagining Aki's face under her foot.

"Rima?"

She jumped at the voice. "What?" she snapped. Rima didn't care who it was, only that they should take their hand off her arm before she slapped them into next week. When she heard a chuckle, she immediately knew who it was.

"What the hell do you want, Fujisaki?" she demanded icily, refusing to look at him. A second chuckle managed to escape his lips before Rima turned around, brought her hand back, and slapped him right across the face. A resounding _slap! _echoed around the now silent and wide-eyed yard. A beautiful red mark in the shape of her small hand now adorned his face. He, too, was staring at her with wide eyes. His mouth was agape, surprise flashing across his ochre eyes.

"When I ask you what you want with me," Rima hissed. "I expect an answer, _not_a laugh."

With that, Rima turned around and stormed off in the direction of the school gates, Kusukusu hot on her trail.

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><p><strong>Chapter inspired by...<br>'_Mad World_', Gary Jules AND _'Nobody's Fool', _Evanescence  
><strong>


	9. CHAPTER 8: Nagihiko

_**I DO NOT OWN **_**SHUGO CHARA**_**. ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE PUBLISHERS/PRODUCERS**_

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><p><em><em>.::.<span>P<span>**r**e_c_**io**u_s_** S**e_c**r_e_**t_**s** _**a**_n_d_** B**_ea**u**_t**f**ul **L**i**a**_r**s**.::._

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><p>Nagihiko stared in dumbfounded shock as Rima stormed off towards the gate. He watched her until she turned the corner. He watched until she was nowhere in sight. As soon as he turned his attention back to the shocked school yard, he was swamped by fan girls.<p>

"Nagihiko-senpai! Are you okay?!"

"Fujisaki-kun, do you need to go to the nurse?"

"We can walk you home if you like!

"Would you like me to go get a teacher to report this accident?"

Nagihiko's head was ringing. Not only was his cheek on fire, but he was starting to get a headache from all his fans' annoying chatter. He forced himself to smile a princely smile and ignore the burning on the right side of his face.

"I will be absolutely fine," he said. "Now, I would advise that you all run along to your classes. I wouldn't want any of you getting in trouble because of me," he added in a stern voice. They all sighed dreamily before scurrying off to their first class of the day.

Once the yard had been emptied of fan girls and bystanders, Nagihiko allowed himself to fall against the wall and groan, pressing his burning cheek to the cold and damp concrete. Amu rushed up to him immediately and grabbed his face in her hands.

"Nagi! Are you sure you're okay?" she cried, tilting his face towards her. She immediately gasped at the angry red mark.

"You need to ice that."

"Amu, I'll be okay―"

"You need to ice that right now, Fujisaki Nagihiko. Don't make me drag you to the nurse's office."

Nagi gulped despite himself at the ferocious tone in her voice. He could only manage a small nod before he was whisked away. Amu was running as fast as she could and dragging him behind her, not even bothering to slow down when she shot to the door. The entire time the nurse fussed over him Nagihiko thought hard.

The scene replayed in his head over and over again, more and more details leaping out at him each time until he could have sworn he could have written a book about it. Rima had been being Rima, as in lost-in-thought-trying-to-get-people-to-back-the-hell-off Rima and he had disturbed her, then made a mistake by laughing at her when she threatened to slap him, and then he _had_been slapped for it. She'd walked away after and left the school while he'd been watching her, gazing until she turned the corner. It had taken him a while to re-establish himself, to regain his bearings.

When he had he'd been as shocked as hell and nearly cracked when fan girls had leapt on him, taking advantage of his position as injured. _God, they are so annoying!_he thought to himself. A voice broke through his clouded mind and he started.

"Wha―What? I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Could you repeat please?"

The nurse looked at him sympathetically and clucked her tongue. "Don't you worry, I'd be shocked too if I'd been slapped. What I was saying was that you will be perfectly fine. Now, run along you two, before you miss out on second period."

Amu and Nagihiko thanked the nurse and left the pristine building wordlessly. Amu seemed to pick on Nagihiko's reluctance to talk, much to his relief.

"See you at break, Nagi!" Amu exclaimed before stumbling into her English class.

Nagihiko slipped into the throng of people and let them carry him along to his art class. He zoned out periodically. When something became disinteresting, he'd succumb to his thoughts. And when something important was brought up, he'd manage to pay attention long enough to grasp what his teacher was saying before losing interest. He nearly got a detention before smoothly replying to the teacher's question. Aizawa-sensei would just nod, as if to assure him his star student was paying attention before moving on with the lesson again.

By the time the bell rang he was jittery with the need to escape the confinements of the classroom. Nagi squeezed through the hallways until he ended up outside. As soon as the fresh air hit his face his mind calmed down and his nerves stopped shaking. He let in a long, slow breath, the smell of rain and the chilliness of the air nipping his nose until turning it red. The sharp hum of students was immediately drowned out and he sighed in contempt before coming back to earth again. He could hear shuffling behind him, and when he turned around he nearly groaned. The fan girls were back, staring at him with shining eyes and longing smiles.

"Ladies," he ground out before turning and walking away stiffly. A few startled gasps arose from behind him, but he didn't care. Nagihiko just kept on walking.

"But, Fujisaki-senpai―!"

"Not now, Saaya."

"Fujisaki-senpai―"

"I said not now,"Nagihiko snapped, turning back around to glower at them. They all seemed to take a step back at the ferocity in his voice. Nagihiko glared at them for one second longer before walking away.

Just as he rounded the corner, he heard something that usually would have made him stop, yet he was so engrossed in unsuccessfully trying to cool himself down he ignored it.  
><em><br>"―her down."_

_Dammit! Fujisaki, you freaking bastard! You just potentially blew your frickin' cover all because you were too busy "thinking" to calm down for one goddammed second! What the bloody hell is wrong with you?!_Nagihiko gnashed his teeth together in anger, his fists clenched so hard his knuckles were white. He'd just blown it. He'd just blown six years of hard work, all because of one freaking girl. One girl! One freaking, goddammed girl that probably hated him, which truly sucked because he might li―

Nagihiko's eyes went wider than dinner plates and his mouth fell open, opening and closing like a fish out of water. He couldn't believe it. No, he refused to believe it. There was no way, absolutely no way, he could like her. Not at all; not in a million years. She hated him. She loathed him. He saw it in the way she looked at him, he saw it in the way she spoke to him. Dammit, he even saw it in the way she reacted to him!

Nagihiko shook his head to clear it of those god-awful thoughts and took a moment to reassert himself. It would be an understatement to say he was frustrated. He was a bit of everything: he was annoyed, furious, mad, depressed even. But what surprised him the most was the slight pain he felt at the knowledge he could never have her―s_top thinking about that!_At this point, Nagi was beyond fed-up. He was utterly bursting.

Before he knew it, his feet were carrying him swiftly across the large campus to the small gym the school's athletes trained at. Being a member of the basketball team allowed him to train there at any time of the day when he had a free period. Nagihiko ran straight to the change rooms where he nearly ripped his locker door off its hinges in search of a clean pair of pants. Once he found a pair of suitable sweatpants, Nagi stripped and pulled the pants on, abandoning his school uniform in his locker.

Nagihiko just about sprinted into the gym and set to work on the rowing machine. He started at an incredibly fast pace, his anger fuelling him. _You stupid idiot. How in the hell did you slip up? It's been six freaking years! _Nagi grunted and went even faster, hoping the physical strain would stop him from thinking. Boy, was he wrong._ You know what you're gonna do now? You're gonna forget about her. You're gonna keep on carrying on with your task as if she never appeared. She's only causing trouble, when will you see that?_

"You think I haven't?" he ended up hissing. He wished his mind would shut the hell up and stop thinking about the blond demon. He couldn't love her.

If he did, he was ruined. How could he concentrate on unearthing sins when she was on his mind all the time? Not only would he slip up―_you already have, idiot!_― he could end up confusing things, muddling them up in his head so when he went for his big reveal, he would be in a world of trouble. He needed the cold, hard truth and if he couldn't get that, he might as well kiss his revenge goodbye. If he didn't get everything right to the last detail, he'd end up lying and all his victims would be able to sell him out for it.  
>He would be gone faster than you could say "rich bitches".<p>

_So Fujisaki, the only way to avoid that is forget about Mashiro Rima. You do not like her. You do not love her. Got it? If you know what's best for you, you'll stay away. Are we clear?_Nagi clenched his teeth and nodded to himself.

"Yes," he whispered. "we're clear."

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading! I hope you are just as eager to read the ninth chapter as I am to publish it!<br>**

**This chapter inspired by...  
><em>'21 Guns', <em>Greenday**


	10. CHAPTER 9: Rima

**I am _so _sorry about the long wait. But, I _am _only thirteen. I'm not exactly skilled in the time-managment department. Also, my violin auditions are approaching and I haven't had any time to write. I've been playing for three years and my instructor believes I'm ready to join the Festival of Music Orechestra. My audition has taken a while to prepare for-I'm playing _Gavotte_ by Gossec (I love you, _L'corda_!).  
>I won't lie; <em>Fairy Tail <em>has had me so distracted. I simply cannot get enough of Natsu! If you haven't seen/read it, I suggest you do. You will not regret it.  
>OKAY! I hope you enjoy this chapter. Like I said, I'm sorry I took so long. Oh, and as always, I DO NOT OWN <em>SHUGO CHARA!<em> OR ANY OTHER ANIMES/MANGAS/LICENSED PRODUCTS MENTIONED. ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE PUBLISHERS AND/OR PRODUCERS.**

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><p><em>.::.<span>P<span>**r**e_c_**io**u_s_** S**e_c**r_e_**t_**s** _**a**_n_d_** B**_ea**u**_t**f**ul **L**i**a**_r**s**.::.

Rima didn't know where she was going. She didn't care. For all that could happen, she could fall in a ditch and still not care. She could not get her mind off that damn Fujisaki.

"How dare him?" she whispered under breath. "It's not possible… no―not possible."

Kusukusu was hovering beside her anxiously, not sure if she should let Rima boil over and calm down by herself or go and risk being squished while trying to comfort her. There was one thing Kusukusu was sure of: Rima had over-reacted entirely. She didn't have to _slap _him! Then Kusukusu would remember that Rima was not one to back down from a fight. She would rather get pummelled than walk away in defeat.

Kusukusu could feel her face slowly turning red as her cheeks puffed out. Rima was so infuriating sometimes! "Rima―"

"Don't."

That was all it took Kusukusu to shut up. Kusukusu knew Rima was reaching her limit. She was going to explode.

Rima quickly veered off down the street and around the corner. She only paused for a moment at the fork in the road before taking the path down to the reserve. She walked all the way to the other side, desperately trying to cling to her mask. It wasn't cooperating. Rima could feel her grasp on it slipping.

She quickened her pace to an almost-run. The forest was becoming closer and closer, almost like someone had placed the entire forest in a sling shot and catapulted it towards her. Before she knew it, she was sprinting across the foliage until she found a clearing, where she collapsed. Rima lay on her back, watching the sunlight filter in through the tree tops.

It was positively beautiful. She was so far in; she'd entered the wilder part of the forest where only hunters set foot. Rima wished she had a camera to capture the unique and absolutely pristine environment. Man had not yet dared to destroy this place. Because of that, Rima felt special. She was maybe the only person to ever experience this area. The chirruping from birds was precious, and the way the wind whispered through the trees with a hum was more than soothing. She could, for the first time, relax. She'd almost forgotten how it felt.

Rima realised that she'd long ago released her death grip on her mask. It'd crumbled away to nothing. For the first time in a while, Rima sighed in contempt. It felt so good to finally release her pent-up frustrations. She felt inexplicably free. Kusukusu's giggles as she chased a sparrow around soothed her to the core, so much so that Rima felt herself slipping into unconsciousness.

When she awoke, pale evening light was slipping through the gaps in the trees. The forest was bathed in a soft golden glow, sunshine practically dripping like water off the leaves. Rima felt as if she'd been ripped from Earth and dumped in some far away, mystical dimension. Yet, despite the sheer beauty of the world around her, she could not ignore the feeling that she were trespassing on some ethereal land made only for the Gods themselves to see.

Rima stood and brushed the dirt from her uniform, eyes half-lidded and mind sleep hazed. Kusukusu was softly snoring on a leaf she'd dragged over a rock in the direct sunlight. Rima smiled at the sight. She let herself absorb the scenery around her before she picked Kusukusu up and cradled her in her palm. Rima lingered at the edge of the clearing. She never wanted to leave this place, ever. She was able to let go of her mask and relax even if it was just for a few hours. She was sure that she would never tire of the sheer beauty of this place.

Rima sighed and glanced around one last time before turning around and walking back. On the way she marked trees with an 'R' so she would know how to find it again. By the time she'd exited the forest the air had cooled down considerably and the sun was dipping below the horizon. Rima wrapped her blazer tighter around her trembling arms, still cradling a mumbling Kusukusu in her palm.

She had only been walking for a short while when she felt it: someone was watching her. Like that night from so many years ago―the night that changed the rest of her life forever. Rima sped up. She couldn't understand it. It was still light outside! There were plenty of people still out and about, she should be safe.  
><em><br>Idiot. There were people around the last time too, yet that didn't stop them from taking you. Do you honestly think this time will be any different? _Rima tried desperately to smother that voice within; but to no avail.

Her common sense and flight-impulse were engaged in a battle. Her impulse refused to listen to the logical explanations her common sense was spewing out. She wanted to start running as far away as she could, but the logical side of her wanted to stop and assess the situation.

_Assess? _she screamed at herself. _There is nothing _to_ assess. Run! _She would gladly run. But then a yell of, _Calm the freak down and FIGURE OUT WHAT THE HELL YOU'RE GOING TO DO! _would resonate through her head. Rima immediately stopped bickering with herself internally when footsteps started to thud behind her. And more than one pair.

A finger of fear licked up her spine and her blood ran cold. This was too familiar. Had the men who abducted her back then returned? That was illogical though. They'd had their fun, why would they be back? What if they wanted revenge? Rima shuddered at the thought. Why couldn't they leave her alone? She quickened her pace until she was flying around corners. The likeliness to that night was uncanny: adrenaline once again fuelled her actions.

Rima flew around corners, dodging whatever lay in her path. She ran until her lungs burned with the need to draw in breath. She ran until it felt like her legs had been replaced with concrete, and she ran until she hit a dead-end. Rima clawed desperately at the rough bricks, begging them to open up and let her escape. They didn't.

As a last-ditch effort, she wondered if she could climb over the wall and on to a roof of a nearby building. Rima ran up and down the alley frantically, looking for anything to aid her in her escape. After all her efforts had been exhausted, Rima decided to finally accept the cold, hard truth. This was the end. There were no second chances for her. Rima walked and stood at the mouth of the alley, standing with her shoulders set defiantly. The street in front of the alley was empty; there was not a soul in sight. Rima was actually starting to think she'd lost her pursuers.

She stood there waiting, listening, watching. Nothing jumped out at her and she couldn't hear anything. Timidly she walked to the street and looked around. Just as she'd thought, there was no one in sight. Rima sighed in relief and was about to step forward on the road when something hit her from behind. Rima gasped and twisted mid-air to see what had hit her, only to reel back in surprise. It was a group of girls from Seiyo. The leader of the group―was her name Saaya?―stared down at her with her hands on her hips. Her followers were glaring at Rima with cold and unforgiving eyes.

"What do you want?" Rima snapped, glaring at them right back. She saw something falter in the followers but they quickly recovered. Saaya let out a cruel laugh.

"Oh, Mashiro-san, you have no idea what you've done, have you?" her words were menacing.

"Actually, I don't," Rima replied stiffly. She made a move to get up but Saaya slammed her high-heeled foot down on her leg. Rima hissed out in pain; she could already feel a bruise forming.

"Not so fast, _Mashiro_."

Rima clenched her jaw against the pain and growled.

"You did something today. Something _unforgivable. _And now, you're about to learn what happens to little girls who make mistakes."

"What the hell is this about?" Rima grunted out, trying to squirm out from under Saaya's foot. In turn, Saaya pressed down harder, using all her weight. Rima gasped out loud.

"I'm talking about what you did to Fujisaki-san."

Realization dawned on Rima and she managed a weak laugh. "This is about that Fujisaki bastard? Really Saaya, I never knew you cared that much. I thought it impossible for an ugly cake-faced whore such as you to actually have _feelings_. Wow, you amaze me all the time," Rima, not one to go down without a fight, spat. Saaya gasped at Rima's heartless words.

"Just for that, I'm not showing you any mercy," Saaya sneered.

"I didn't ask for mercy."

A howl of outrage left the other girl's glossed lips. A fist suddenly connected with Rima's side. She gasped aloud. Another pair of hands grabbed her by her hair and pulled her up, and Rima hissed in pain. The hiss lasted only a second until a fist slammed into her nose. A sickening crack filled the air and Rima cried out.  
><em>That's definitely broken, <em>she thought before a different hand slapped her across the face. Rima's vision blurred and she would have fallen backwards, if it weren't for the girl holding her up. The girl―whose face Rima did not recognise―used her knee to slam into the small of Rima's back. Rima allowed a small yelp to escape her clenched teeth.

Dammit, it hurt. It hurt _so_ _freaking much_. Rima wanted to crawl up on the sidewalk and sob. Her ribs felt like they had shattered into millions of tiny little pieces, her leg was throbbing painfully, her nose was gushing a torrent of blood and her vision had gone blurry. She was consumed with pain. Rima struggled against the hold of the girl behind her, intent on escaping. The girl kneed her in the same place and Rima could have sworn she felt a white-hot blaze climb up her back.

"_Eungh_!" she screamed. She could feel Saaya grinning in triumph. All her followers had joined in on the "action", punching and kicking her petite body until it was black and blue. _How ironic, _she thought. _Those are my favourite colours._

A forceful punch landed on Rima's chin, forcing her head back and into the nose of the girl restraining her. The girl howled and threw Rima to the ground and jumped on her, straddling her. She began punching Rima all over. All the other girls cheered for her.

"Yeah, you go Yuuka!"

"Show her what happens when someone messes with _our_Fujisaki-san!"

"This is for you, Nagihiko-senpai!" the girl―Yuuka―cried out. Her soft feminine voice was now filled with hate.

Rima tried to shield herself from the punches, but two girls grabbed her arms and stepped on her palms with all their weight, successfully pinning her down. The pain was so immense, a few tears managed to squeeze out from behind her tightly shut eyes and trickle down to mix with the blood now coating her face. Rima cried out again. She could feel herself slowly losing consciousness.

Yuuka stopped her violent ministrations to inspect her handiwork. "She's all your, girls." A cheer went up at those four words and they all started to kick Rima.

Rima was too far gone to feel the pain. Her entire body was numb. Yet, each kick seemed to fuel the fire rapidly building in Rima. So much so, it felt as if her entire body was consumed in lethal flames. She screamed at the intensity of it.

Her scream was enough to wake Kusukusu. "Rima!" she shouted when she finally focused her sleepy eyes on her wavering bearer. "RIMA!" she repeated, eyes as wide as dinner plates. When Rima failed to respond, Kusukusu immediately knew something was wrong. "Rima, stay here! I'm going to get some help!" Kusukusu flew off into the night.

The pain was now blinding―the fire seemed to burn the numbness away and she could _feel _again. Rima screamed, the sound echoing off the bricks.

"Get off me!" she shouted to the girls. Most of them laughed at her desperation. Rima fought down the pain, burying it deep. _Be strong Rima! How hard can it be? _"I don't think you heard me right. I said, _get the hell off me_," Rima's voice had lowered to a growl.

Saaya was the one to speak up next. "Girls, girls! I think she's learned her lesson, ne? At this rate, we'll surely kill her," she kneeled beside Rima and twirled a piece of her blond hair. "Now Rima, what did we learn?" she asked with faux sweetness and innocence.

"That you're a psychopath that deserves to be in an asylum and your slaves are all heartless bitches," Rima hissed. She worked up a mouthful of blood and saliva and spat it onto Saaya's face.

Rage flitted across her narrowed eyes."You just don't know when to give up, do you?" Saaya stood up straight and wiped the spit off her face. "Come on, girls. Let's go. She's not worth it."

The group of girls groaned, but only one of them spoke up. "Saaya―"

"Enough!" Saaya's clipping tone seemed to frighten the girl stiff.

Rima listened to their footsteps fade away. When she knew they were gone, Rima curled up into a ball and cried. She screamed to the stars, wishing they could take all her pain away. _It's all that damned Fujisaki's fault, _she thought to herself over and over, as if those six words could transport her to a place where pain was unheard of. She didn't want this anymore! She couldn't take it! Why was no one there to protect her? How come no knight in shining armour had swept her off the dirty ground and taken her to another place?

Wave after wave of pain fell upon her, shaking her from her thoughts. A strangled cry managed to escape her hoarse throat, and she found herself wondering: _am I going to die? _

Surely it was not possible for someone to be in this much agony. Rima found herself welcoming the idea. It would be best if she _did. _And so Rima hugged her bloody knees tighter, welcoming―ready to embrace―death.

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><p><strong>I don't even know how I thought of that. One minute I'm typing he title, the next I'm looking at a fully completed nine-paged chapter. I also apologise for all that updating, re-updating that happened last chapter. FF skewed up, and I decided to change Chapter 8 around a bit.<br>**

**I hope you enjoyed that chapter, and I would like to thank everyone who favourited/reviewed/followed _PS&BL! _Remember:more reviews equals a happy writer and a happy writer equals faster updates! Let's see if we can get FORTY reviwes, ne?**

**MUST READ THIS!  
>-The <em>One More Night <em>one-shot WILL be published, just not yet. You'll have to wait a couple chapters! Otherwise, if you read that, it spoils the rest of the story.  
><strong>

**Until next time, ja ne! **

**This chapter inspired by...  
><em>'Nobody's Home', <em>Avril Lavigne**


	11. Chapter 10: Nagihiko

**I won't stammer excuses but I will apologise, _again. _But, like I mentioned in the previous chapter, I have an audition NEXT MONTH, a major recital NEXT MONTH and I have high school preparation to attend... information nights, orientation day... yeah.**

As always, I DO NOT OWN _SHUGO CHARA _OR ANY LICENSED PRODUCTS MENTIONED. ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE PUBLISHERS AND/OR PRODUCERS.

**P.S. I have spaced out my writing, thanks to a helpful review! Thank you so much for pointing that out! I have wondered about that lately, but was too lazy to go back and change it all. **

**P.P.S. MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT at the end. Please read! :)**

**Without further ado, _Precious Secrets and Beautiful Liars!_**

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><p><em><em>.::.<span>P<span>**r**e_c_**io**u_s_** S**e_c**r_e_**t_**s** _**a**_n_d_** B**_ea**u**_t**f**ul **L**i**a**_r**s**.::._

Nagi was panting when he slowed to a walk on the treadmill. It had been two hours since he'd sprinted like a mad maniac into the building. His head was finally clear and Nagi broke into a wide grin. He was finally calm! No amount of annoying fan girls, idiotic "challenges" from Kukai or, hell, even _Rima_, could break his good mood now. Nagihiko found himself almost skipping to the change rooms. He grinned sheepishly at the stares he got and shrugged.

"I got praised by coach," he lied smoothly.

Their basketball coach was possibly the strictest, most hard-core coach in all the be praised by him was like having the president of Japan shake hands with you and say _'you make this country proud'_. It was the perfect way to excuse his smile. What had he been supposed to say? '_I can think clearly for the first time in four years_'? He didn't think so.

A cheer erupted among the basketball team, and the young athletes slapped him on the back with their strong hands.

"Well done, Fujisaki!"

"You're THE MAN."

"How in the hell did you do it?!"

"I cleaned up the gym for him and even offered to pump all the balls up," he replied sheepishly. Laughter arose from the young men around him, and he allowed himself to smile all over again.

He ambled his way into the male changeroom. Nagihiko grabbed a clean towel and stepped into the shower, loving the way the water bounced off his stretched muscles. While in the shower his mind seemed to wander. First it wandered to the lessons he'd missed, then before he knew it, he was thinking of Rima all over again. It seemed as though no amount of physical strain could keep his mind off her.

Yet, instead of being mad at himself, he found himself utterly curious. Those fan girls had been shocked when he'd snapped at them and, because he was too consumed with his thoughts he hadn't paid any attention to what one of them had uttered. But now that he was thinking about it, something seemed strange.  
><em><br>"―her down."_

He could have sworn that that's what he'd heard. But, who was this "her" they'd been referring to? And, why would she be linked to Nagihiko? Realization hit him so hard, it felt like a forceful punch to his stomach, leaving him disoriented and out of breath.

Nagi reached out to grasp something; anything, only to slip on the cold tiles and land on the floor. He couldn't believe it. How could he be so stupid? How did he not realize earlier? Those fan girls―they―they planned on taking Rima down.

As in, severely injure, may kill her, all because of one stupid mistake on his part: he'd cracked, lost his act, and was now potentially responsible for anything that happened to Rima because he'd caused it.  
>A sudden burst of energy caused Nagi to suddenly rear up and get dressed frantically; not caring if he'd buttoned up his shirt or dried his hair. He burst through the male change room and into the foyer, all but ready to smash through the glass door separating him from the outside.<p>

Something made him pause as he was about to pull the door open. Why did he care? He'd buried any form of likeness towards her, yet now he was going on a wild goose chase to save her from getting her petite little ass beaten.  
><em><br>You asshole!_ He yelled at himself internally. _Why the HELL would you think that? Face it dude: you freakin' love her! Get your ass out that door and on the streets, NOW!_

And so Nagi ran. He ran as if hell itself was on his tail, bats and fiery demons not too far behind.

* * *

><p>Nagi sank to his knees on the hard ground. The sun had set long ago and he still hadn't found Rima. Where the hell was she? He'd checked everywhere for her but found not a single trace of where she'd gone. Nagi was determined though and he would not give up, even if he spent all night looking for her.<p>

Children were packing up to leave around him, frustrated parents threatening punishment if they did not get off the play equipment. Nagi barely payed any mind to his surroundings. He was compiling a list in his head of all the places he'd already checked. It was useless though, for he'd checked _everywhere_.

Nagi had spent the entire afternoon running around the city asking anyone if they'd seen a _'short, blonde girl. Petite, around five-foot one... glares at anything in her way'_. He'd had no luck. No one had seen her.  
>He thought back to why he was looking for her. At first, he'd thought it had been love but now he wasn't so sure. Nagi had forced himself to bury any form of <em>feeling<em>towards her yet as soon as the prospect of her being in danger came to mind, all his hard work went out the window.

But, what if he didn't really love her at all? What if he'd been fooling himself into believing that he loved her the entire time he was looking for her? The truth was that Nagihiko could not bear the guilt. If _anything _happened to her, it would be his entire fault.  
><em><br>'Atta boy, _that darker voice in his head said. _You're finally thinking straight! You don't love her. You used to, but now you don't because you _can't _love her. Now, get up off the ground and start searching otherwise we'll be in deep shit.  
><em>  
>Nagihiko stumbled up off the ground and started walking. He didn't get far before Rhythm―who had stayed quiet the entire time―suddenly perked up.<p>

"Nagi! I sense a guardian character!" he cried out.

Nagi glanced at him briefly, noting how the chara's face was scrunched up in concentration. "Are you sure?"

Rhythm slapped him upside the head. "Of course I'm sure!"

"It's probably the others, wondering why I disappeared."

"No, it's not. It's Kusukusu!"

Nagihiko stopped in his tracks. "Are you positive?" he asked.

Rhythm nodded his head vigorously. Not even a minute later an orange blur crashed into Nagihiko.

"Fujisaki-san!" it cried.

Nagihiko glanced down at Kusukusu's tear-stained face. "Kusukusu?"

"It's―It's Rima!" she managed to choke out. "Something happened and―you've got to come help!"

"Yo, Kusukusu! Slow down for a second and breathe!" Rhythm moved to Kusukusu's side and grabbed her shoulders. Once she was semi-calmed, she frantically explained what had happened to Rima.

"We were in a forest and then I fell asleep and I―I woke up to Rima screaming! It was so scary! There were these girls standing over her punching her and―and kicking her and Rima just curled up the ground… you've got to help her! This way!" she rushed off without checking to see of the two boys were following.

Nagihiko and Rhythm shared a grim look before going after the orange chara.

* * *

><p>Kusukusu led them around corners and across roads, down alleys and streets. Nagihiko was amazed she hadn't got lost in the maze of streets. He didn't even know an area like this even existed. Nagihiko ignored the panic settling in his chest and followed Kusukusu as she directed them to Rima.<p>

Ten minutes later they arrived in a seemingly deserted area. Garbage littered the empty streets and only half the streetlights were working. An ominous feeling crept over Nagi and he rubbed his arms.

"This way!" Kusukusu cried out before leading them down yet another street.

"Oi, Kusukusu, how much longer?" Rhythm panted out. The other chara chose to ignore his impatience and just kept on going.

Kusukusu finally skidded to a stop at the mouth of a particularly chilly alley. There was no source of light coming from within the alley, the only source of light a hundred feet from the top of the alley.  
>Nagihiko stood for a moment while his eyes adjusted. A hush had fallen over the three as they took in their surroundings, peering into the alley like some monster was waiting to jump out and attack them.<br>_Which_, Nagihiko noted with dry humour, _is exactly what's gonna happen_ _if I don't hurry it up a bit.  
><em>  
>His eyes finally adjusted, Nagihiko took a tentative step into the alley. He waited for a moment before continuing. Nagi didn't know why he was being so cautious. A part of him was hoping that they wouldn't find anything and Kusukusu had experienced a bad dream and freaked out. Though he didn't dare to admit it out loud, something in him died a little when he saw the small slumped figure on the ground, shivering uncontrollably and whimpering.<p>

A gasp at his side alerted him that Kusukusu had seen Rima. She rushed forward, crying, while Nagihiko stood in stunned silence. He'd been hoping against hope that they wouldn't find anything. Yet there Rima was, curled up on the ground, covered in blood and whimpering incoherently.

Her shrieks of pain were what jump-started his brain and broke his heart. Rima, fierce and fearless Rima was in agony because of him. Nagihiko rushed forward and dropped to his knees on the ground beside her, his heart absolutely shattering at the black and blue bruises covering her body. Only two words echoed in his mind: _my fault, my fault, my fault.  
><em>  
>"Help her," Kusukusu whispered hoarsely. She looked up suddenly into Nagihiko's dull eyes. "Please. Help her."<p>

He held her stare for a moment longer before nodding and turing his gaze back to Rima. He had to be careful. He didn't know if she had any broken bones.

"Rima?" he whispered gently. When there was no response he gently prodded her. "Rima?" he tried again.

She suddenly started screaming at the top of her lungs and convulsing. Her screams were slowly turning into words. "N-No! Get away from me! _Stop it!_"

"Rima!" Nagihiko grabbed her shoulders and pulled her against him. "Rima! It's okay! You'll be fine!"  
>He kept whispering words of comfort in her ear while gently stroking her back. She was sobbing now, heart wrenching cries that echoed around them.<p>

"Rima…" Kusukusu whispered. A few tears leaked out of her red-rimmed eyes. Rhythm wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against him. Kusukusu took bundles of his vest in her small hands and cried, burying her face in his chest so she wouldn't have to see the pain Rima was experiencing. It was too much for Kusukusu.

"_Let go of me!" _Rima screamed painfully. Nagihiko only brought her closer against him. He felt _horrible. _This wasn't Rima; not at all. Nagi could not stand it.  
><em><br>My fault, my fault, my fault… _those words continued to repeat themselves over again. _My fault. _It _was _his fault. If only he hadn't―! _No, _he told himself sternly. _There will be time for that later. Right now, you have to help Rima. _Nagihiko nodded to himself. He would take all her pain away.

"Rima," he said softly. "_Shhh. _Calm down. I'm not going to hurt you."

"N-No. Too much… it's too much―" the rest of her words were lost in her sobs. Nagihiko held her closely against him, refusing to let go. Her wails slowly died down until she was only whimpering.

Nagihiko sighed in relief before loosening his hold on her slightly. He raised his eyes to Kusukusu's, silently asking for permission to help her owner, her friend. Kusukusu nodded and, together with Rhythm, joined the unconscious girl and Nagihiko on the ground. She watched in silence as Nagi slowly raised the edge of Rima's bloody shirt, inspecting her wounds.

She had a large bruise that covered the entire areas of her stomach. Upon closer inspection, her ribs were most certainly bruised. Nagihiko drew the line at checking her upper body though; after all, he was still a gentleman. Nagi instead checked her face and knew immediately that her nose was broken. Despite some ugly bruising, that was the worst of her injuries.

Nagi ripped off his school shirt and wrapped her in it before lifting her up effortlessly. "She needs to go to the hospital," he declared. Kusukusu nodded before once again leading the way out of the alley, this time to the local hospital.

One trip to the emergency room later and they were on their way to Rima's house. The doctor had set her nose and given her a strong dose of painkillers that would keep her asleep for the next few hours. The nurse had then cleaned her up a little at Nagihiko's request and he'd managed to get his hands on a blanket to wrap her in.

Nagi was amazed they hadn't got any strange looks from the doctors or nurses on-duty. They had simply taken her in and told him to take good care of her after he'd told them the full story.

"We're here," Kusukusu declared.

"Wait, what will I tell her parents?" Nagihiko asked. He'd only just thought of Rima's parents and their reaction to their daughter's state. Kusukusu's face suddenly hardened.

"They wouldn't care. Besides, her father is on a business trip and her mother is probably asleep in some other man's bed. This way," she led them through the unlocked front door and up the stairs. Nagihiko's head was reeling with this information. And he thought _he _had it bad. Obviously not.

"Just put her on the bed and I'll do the rest. You guys can go home now. Thanks," Kusukusu whispered.

Nagihiko felt his own face harden. "No. Rhythm and I will stay the night to help keep an eye on her," he told the chara.

As soon as she opened her mouth to protest, Rhythm spoke up. "You need rest, Kusukusu. Let us help you."

She nodded before gesturing for Nagi to release Rima. He placed her gently on the bed and watched her face for a second. "Rhythm and I will go get some extra blankets. Meanwhile, would you mind getting her into something cleaner?" Nagihiko asked Kusukusu. She nodded before giving them instructions to the linen cabinet.

When they reached the large wardrobe, Nagihiko grabbed a few blankets and a small quilt. He figured it would be enough for him. There were no pillows he could find but he could just borrow one of Rima's decorative cushions to rest his head on. It wasn't like he'd get any sleep though. He knew Rima's screaming, blood-covered face would haunt him for a while.

Kusukusu had managed to get Rima into a pair of sleeping shorts and an oversized shirt when the two boys entered. Wordlessly, Nagi walked up to Rima and pulled the covers over her. He lifted her head and placed a large pillow under it and then draped a blanket across her bed for extra warmth.

"You can sleep in here tonight, Nagihiko-san" Kusukusu yawned, pulling out a sleeping mat from under Rima's bed. He nodded, already pulling his dirty shirt over his head.

Nagi grabbed a yellow pillow from the other side of Rima's bed and placed it on the mat Kusukusu had covered in a blanket. He kicked off his shoes and wriggled under the countless blankets and quilt, feeling warmer than ever.

"Goodnight," he whispered to his sleeping companions before closing his eyes and losing himself in Rima's scent.

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><p><strong>...Well? Did I do good? Bad? Hate it? Instead of keeping those thoughts yourself, drop a review so I can improve it. Flames are welcome! Constructive criticism is great!<strong>

ANNOUNCEMENT: _PRECIOUS SECRETS AND BEAUTIFUL LIARS _IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION.  
>I have decided to go through and edit everything. I am not entirely happy with how grammatically incorrect this FF is.<p>

Believe me, this is not my best work. I am capable of writing so much more better than this. Don't worry though! I have already began editing and will be done soon!

**Thankyou so much for your support. I really appreciate it. :)**

**Chapter inspired by:  
><em>'Lullaby', <em>Nickelback AND _'Deteriorate', _Demon Hunter**


	12. CHAPTER 11: Rima

**SO, I'm back! How have you all been...?**

I hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer: All licensed products mentioned in this fanfiction do not belong to me. All rights go to the producers/publisher.**

**8/4/13 UPDATE: This chapter has gone under editing. I apologize for the email you may have been sent. Look forward to 'Chapter 12: Revenge' soon! :D**

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><p><em><em>.::.<span>P<span>**r**e_c_**io**u_s_** S**e_c**r_e_**t_**s** _**a**_n_d_** B**_ea**u**_t**f**ul **L**i**a**_r**s**.::._

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><p><em>She seemed to be floating; her body felt light and everything was irresistibly warm. Something soft was caressing her bare arms and legs and Rima found herself curling into the strange sensation. Tingles ran up and down her body, causing her toes to curl and a soft sigh to escape her lips.<em>

_Despite the comfort, she knew that something was bound to ruin her content. As if on cue, pain started to slowly creep up on her. Rima fidgeted in discomfort. But it didn't stop. The shadows slowly started to creep up on her and she felt like crying out._

_Some part of her was fighting for that foreign feeling of warmth and comfort, shouting about missing the feeling. _'No!' _it screamed over again. It wanted that comforting feeling, needed it almost._

The pain had intensified ten-fold by now. Rima was frozen by the sheer force of it. That did not last long, for she soon started shifting and fidgeting, hoping to alleviate the pain somehow. It did not work. Pain itself was pulling her under, sinking its vicious claws into her.

Rima slowly awakened, shaking. Her entire body felt like she'd been run over by a truck hundreds of times. _What the hell happened last night? _she wondered to herself. Rima remembered going to school, slapping Fujisaki, storming out of the school, going to the forest and―the floodgates opened and Rima gasped.  
><em><br>That's right, _she thought bitterly. _Saaya and her gang beat me up. _ Rima shook her head, but let out a cry as fiery needles stabbed into her. She settled on lying still and focusing on her body. Her joints were stiff and her head pounded with a splitting headache. Her nose also hurt and she soon remembered that she'd broken it.

"Crap," she managed to mutter through the hoarseness in her throat. Fighting through the headache, she opened her eyes and grimaced. Damn, that sun hurt. Rima sucked in a breath and tried again. What she saw made her do a double-take. Her eyes widened when she realised that, _no_, this was not a dream and Fujisaki―that same, damned Fujisaki―was sleeping on her floor.

"What the hell?" she cried out. Though Fujisaki did not wake at her voice, Kusukusu certainly did.

"Rima! You're awake!"

Before Rima could reply with a _'what the hell is he doing here?', _Kusukusu had flung herself at Rima's cheek. "You're okay!" she sobbed. "You're really okay!"

Rima was taken aback by the sudden proclamation. "Why wouldn't I be?" Kusukusu glanced up at Rima and bit her lip, averting her eyes. "Kusukusu," Rima began in a warning tone.

"I'm sorry!" Kusukusu erupted. "I know I shouldn't doubt you, but―Rima, it was so scary!" the last part was lost in Kusukusu's gut-wrenching sobs.

Guilt exploded in Rima's chest and she took Kusukusu into her palms, nuzzling her little chara to her cheek. "I'm sorry," she continually whispered. "I am so sorry for putting you through that; for making you worry. I'm sorry…"  
>Kusukusu slowly quietened down and both girls shared an exhausted yet relieved smile.<p>

Their moment of content was shattered when a voice from the corner grunted. "Ouch," it muttered.

Rima froze and slowly turned to pin a glare at her unwelcome visitor. Fujisaki, oblivious to the girl's stare, rubbed his eyes and stretched. It took him a moment to blink the bleariness from his eyes, but when he did, they widened considerably.

"Good morning!" he trilled once he'd regained his bearings. "How're you feeling?"

"Fine," Rima replied stiffly.

"You most certainly are not a morning person, are you?" he asked with a sunny smile. Rima, however, could not care less.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Nagihiko glanced at her in surprise. "You don't remember, do you?"

"What part?" she asked sarcastically, her lips turned down in a sadistic scowl. "The part where I slapped you or the part I got beat up by your heartless followers?"

Nagihiko grimaced. "About that…"

"_No,_" she snapped. "Don't you dare try to apologize."

"I wasn't trying to―"

Rima had had enough. It was his fault. All his fault. No amount of apologies or explanations would make her forgive him.  
>"Get out," she hissed. "<em>Get the hell away from me.<em>"

It was Kusukusu who spoke up. "Rima, wait―" her words were dissolved by Rima's glare.

"Now, now, Rima," Nagihiko started, alarm creeping into his eyes.

"I said, _get out!_" she screamed at him, her withering glare now directed at him. Nagihiko visibly shuddered and slowly stood up from his nest of blankets.

"Rima, listen to me for a second! If it weren't for me you'd be worse off than you are now."

"Oh, yeah?" her face was flushed now, her fists clenched into tight balls and her eyes were fiery. "And just whose fault is it that I'm like this anyway?"

"Technically, it's your own fault for―" he was cut off again.

"It's my fault, is it?" Rima had stood up now and was slowly making her way towards him. "Tell me, who was the one who ignored my warning?" Nagihiko remained silent, and Rima grinned wickedly. "Who was the one that failed to notice the absence of his bitches?"

Something sinister ignited in Nagihiko's eyes, vaguely reminding her of the time they're locked eyes from across the street. "What did you just call them?" Nagihiko asked in a low voice.

"You heard me."

By now, Rima had backed Nagihiko against the wall with no way of escaping. His eyes were wide as he tried to move away from her, only to get pinned to the wall by Rima.

"You see, Fujisaki? It's not my fault. _It's yours. _Now, if you could _get the hell out of my house_, I just might let you leave without a broken leg." She released his shoulders and stepped away from him.

When he failed to move, Rima lurched forward, slamming her bedroom door open. A _crack! _was what broke Nagihiko from his trance. As the door slowly swung towards him he got a clear view of the large hole in her wall from when the door knob impacted with it. As for the door knob, it had broken off and was currently rolling its way across the floor towards Rima's bay window. Nagihiko looked up slowly to the girl standing before him, and to his surprise he could, for the first time, read her eyes.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she said in a low voice. "_Get the fuck out of here." _Rima lurched forward suddenly and started sprinting towards him, chasing him down the stairs, ignoring the spiking needles of pain blazing down her body. She vaguely remembered seeing his chara barrel past her. Rima had collapsed to the cement outside her home, spent. She had no energy left whatsoever. Her head pounded viciously now and her limbs seemed to have locked into place.

"Rima, are you alright?!" Kusukusu yelled, tugging on a strand of blond hair. Rima swatted her away tiredly.

"Kusukusu, don't," she groaned. Her little chara pursed her lips before grabbing onto Rima's arm and pulling her up. Rima could see the way Kusukusu struggled and tried her hardest to get up herself. Once she was back on her own two feet, Rima struggled into the house. Kusukusu tagged behind, closing doors for Rima. Going up the stairs was a challenge and it took quite sometime to get to the landing. Instead of falling back into her bed Rima grabbed all the bedding Nagihiko had used and stumbled down the stairs.

"Rima, what are you doing?" Rima ignored Kusukusu. She went into the kitchen, grabbed a box of matches and fell through the back door. She was panting now; her muscles were aching in a way they never had before.

Rima walked to the back of the yard to a bare patch of concrete. She threw the blankets and pillows down then turned around to go to the shed. As soon as she entered the metal building, she scoured the numerous shelves for kerosene. She finally found the small bottle hidden behind all the half-empty paint cans after fumbling around in the dark for ten minutes. Rima made her way back to the pile of linen and dumped the entire bottle over the small mound of fabric.

Slowly, with shaking hands, Rima pulled a match from the box and tried to light it. It took her three strikes before she'd finally managed to light the darned thing. Without a second thought she dropped it onto the pile, watching in satisfactory delight as the mound instantly erupted in flames. As the flickering flames continued to eat up the linen, Rima felt herself being stripped of that _differentness _she'd built up over the past few weeks. She was no longer a heap of conflicting emotions. She was now Rima three-point-o'.Her heart was wrapped in another layer of stone and her mask was completely remodelled until not even a chip remained.

Like that night so many years ago when she had first built up her defences, she found herself whispering to her heart: _'―all your fault. All your fault. You deserve this. All your fault…'  
><em>  
>She was now truly a girl turned to stone. She could feel nothing; she <em>was <em>nothing. And it was all because she'd allowed her fortress to crumble slightly. A pile of ashes now lay at her feet. Rima lifted her head and walked back inside slowly, sluggishly. The events of the day caught up with her so suddenly and she all but collapsed on the staircase. More stuggling, more crawling until she finally hobbled into her bedroom. She barely remembered getting in bed, but as soon as she did, the pain returned. Rima whimpered and pulled herself into a ball.

The chant continued. _'This is all your fault. All your fault. You deserve this. Yes, you do deserve this. This is all your fault…' _A part of her was yelling at her.

_'No!'_ it screamed. _'Enough of this nonsense! It's been long enough! It's time for a change, time for you to bring down that wall and destroy the mask! Please!'.  
><em>  
>She didn't bring down her mask. No, the very opposite. Along with the remains of her heart, she buried that voice six-thousand feet under. It didn't understand that <em>she needed this. <em>This was her punishment for letting her guard down.

Rima was now just a shell of what she used to be. She was no longer living; rather, she was a girl encased in weathered stone. Yet she was not hollow; she was filled with even more stone. Her heart be damned for she didn't care. Nothing would be able to save her now. _Nothing. _No God, no person, nothing.

But that's okay. After all, she doesn't want the world.

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><p><strong>I hope you all enjoyed it. :D And, don't forget to reviewsuggest songs. :)**

**Chapter inspired by….  
>'She Don't Want The World', Three Doors Down.<strong>


	13. NOTE- PLEASE READ

_**PLEASE READ:**_

This is extremely hard for me to write, but it must be done.

For the past two years I have been struggling with severe depression and anxiety. I am not my former self at all. Every menial task is a struggle to carry out; some mornings I can barely lift my hand let alone open my eyes. I know that I once promised that I would never put a story on hiatus but please understand.

So, as of now, this fiction is on hold indefinitely. I will not delete this story because I wouldn't want to deprive you wonderful people of a fictional landscape but I will not be updating. Maybe one day I will come back to my stories when I've got a more stable grip on myself.

PM me for further inquires; I will gladly answer your questions.

Eternally yours,  
>Aisa.<p> 


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